Grounded Glories
by shegotofftheplane
Summary: The continuation to Faltering Foundations. The Prophecy of the "Eight" has come to fruition, as Rosie and her friends join the other demigods in a dangerous quest to stop the giants. As she deals with harmful challenges, new feelings, and a brother she never asked for, she can't shake the feeling that an evil is right behind her, waiting for her. Completed.
1. Worlds Colliding

The _Argo II_ was abuzz with energy.

Annabeth Chase, who Rosie still caught herself finding slightly terrifying, was pacing the deck. Every so often, she would place a strand of hair behind her ear, only to change her mind and undo it. Rosie figured she was probably regretting that second cup of coffee right about now.

Piper was nervous- she could tell by how she was biting her fingernails and tugging on her braids. Rosie could hear her practicing her lines from where she was standing- she had driven them insane with how much she had recited them. At this point, Rosie was sure she could probably recite them from heart.

Rosie had been making fun of Jason all morning. Annabeth decided it would be a good idea for him to don a purple cloak and Roman toga- What Leo called the dress code of "we come in peace". All it had made Rosie did was ask Jason if he came from a Galaxy far, far away.

Out of everyone on the _Argo II_, Leo seemed to be the only one besides Rosie who wasn't nervous. He still had his same chaotic and frenetic energy about him- he was running around shouting off orders and readjusting sails. She was pretty sure he was just excited to show off the _Argo II_. Currently, he was spastic-ly shaking his Wii controllers to steer the Argo II.

Everyone had a job. Rosie's? Stay out of the way.

Annabeth had pulled her aside once they started sailing.

"When we get there," she said, carefully crafting her words. "Maybe you can just stay in the back? Let us do the talking?"

Rosie sighed. "Is this because I wanted to hang from Festus and sing '_We Are Family_'?"

"No, Rosie-"

"Because let me just remind you, Leo wanted to write 'Wassup' onto the side of the ship."

"It's just.." she sighed. "There are no children of Neptune. Romans aren't really a fan of the water. I'm sure they're used to Percy by now..but...let's just not overwhelm them, okay?"

Rosie sighed. "So what, you want me to go watch TV with Coach?" Coach Hedge, who had a tendency to be a little gung-ho with attacks, was sent to spend the morning in his cabin watching TV.

"No...maybe just...don't be in their faces?"

As much as she wanted to argue more, she wasn't going to- Annabeth still scared the crap out of her.

"Got it, chief." Rosie saluted. "You won't hear a peep from me."

Annabeth frowned. "Just...maybe stay under the radar, okay?"

"Lucky for you, I'm like the champion at staying under the radar. I'm so far under the radar it's like I'm playing limbo with it."

Annabeth blinked, slightly confused. "Uh. Right. You do that. Thanks."

So that's what she was doing-Nothing.

Leo was going crazy with the Wii controllers, suddenly peering up and groaning. "Aw, man, the mast cracked again!" He turned around and looked at Rosie. "You wanna patch that up with duct tape for me?"

"Oooh, sorry, can't do," she said in a mock apologetic tone.

"Really?" Leo whined. "Come on, Freckles."

She held her hands up in mock defeat. "I'm supposed to be scarce. Annabeth's orders."

That was how Leo ended up throwing a roll of duct tape at her.

So, obviously, she went to annoy Piper next.

"Please put down your weapons," she recited to Rosie. "We just want to talk."

Rosie placed a hand on a chin, deep in thought. "May be your best performance yet."

Piper visibly relaxed. "Really?"

"Yes. Now, please I _beg_ of you, enough practicing."

Piper nodded. "Yeah, I probably-"

Something crashed into the boat, causing Piper to smack into Rosie, the two of stumbling onto the deck floor.

"No, No, NO-" a voice was saying. "Unacceptable!"

Rosie stood up from the ground. "_Ooh_, someone thinks we're unacceptable, let's go!"

"Is that a statue?" Piper asked in shock as they reached the front of the ship.

It was a statue- glaring at them stonily, no arms or lower body. It was literally just a bust, glaring at them.

"Yes, missy, I AM a statue but you know what, I am NOT? A rule breaker! And a Greek? No THANK YOU!" The statue was being way too threatening for someone without arms. "Do you know what rules you're breaking?"

Piper paused. "Ahhh..." she glanced at Jason. "A little help here, please."

"Terminus!" Jason said in a friendly tone.

"I remember you, Jason Grace," Terminus scowled. "Have you no standards anymore? Shame to see you hanging out with _Greeks_."

Jason was wearing a toga, for God's sake- what more did these people want?

"Terminus, come on-"

"Terminus," Piper said soothingly, holding her dagger in her hand. "We just want to talk. It'd be great if we could-"

"Charmspeak doesn't work on me, young lady," he sneered. "Put down the dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"

"Um." Piper gave him a confused look. "Not to be that person, but you don't have arms."

"Unacceptable!" A loud pop made Piper yelp and drop her dagger, which appeared to be smoking. "You cannot expect to show up here and just come in! You Greeks! It's bad enough you brought that Neptune menace!"

Rosie grinned, nudging Jason. "Hey, that's me, I'm the menace!"

"You know what happened to the last Neptunian we let in!"

Rosie blinked at the statue. "Wait, _what?"_

"If I was at full strength, I'd ought to blow this flying monstrosity out of the sky!"

Leo held up his Wii controllers threateningly. "I know you did not just call my ship a flying monstrosity."

"What happened to the last Neptunian they let in?" Rosie asked, her voice becoming high-pitched.

Annabeth quickly stepped in front of Leo. "Alright, guys. Everyone just take a deep breath. Terminus, is it? God of boundaries?" She shot him a relaxed smile, holding up her weapon-less hands. "We just want to talk. That's all. My name is Annabeth Chase, child of-"

Terminus glared at her. "I know who you are. You're a child of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. I know the place for people like you."

Annabeth looked taken aback. "I'm sorry, what's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with-"

"Anyways!" Jason quickly cut in. "Terminus, buddy, we're not going to hurt anymore." After a quick nudge from Leo, he sighed and threw up a peace sign. "We come in peace. If we can just land-"

"Nope!" The statue barked. "No weapons inside the Pomerian line!"

"Pomerian?" Rosie asked in confusion. "Like the dog?"

Piper shook her head. "No," she said. "That's pomeranian."

"No," Leo said, scratching his head in thought. "I'm pretty sure that's pom-pom."

"_Pom-pom_?" Rosie exclaimed incredulously. "That's what cheerleaders-"

"Pomerian," Jason cut in quickly over the three of them. "City limits."

Leo peered at Terminus with a look Rosie knew all too well. "You seem pretty tightly wound, my dude." He whipped out a screwdriver, tapping the base of the statue. "You want me to take a little peek inside?"

BOOM. Another explosion made both Leo and Rosie jump back.

"I said no weapons! This entire ship is a weapon! No admittance!"

Annabeth's face suddenly went unreadable. "Leo, stop the ship."

Leo did a double take. "_Qué_?"

"You heard me."

Leo shrugged, pulling the Wii controllers up, the ship jolting to a standstill.

"Terminus," Annabeth continued. "Is there a rule about hovering over New Rome?"

Rosie smiled to herself, dubbing Annabeth the queen of loopholes. The girl had a brain.

Terminus frowned. "I suppose not..."

"Perfect! We'll leave our weapons aboard and use a rope ladder to get down. I expect the campers to also respect the no weapons rule?"

"Of course!" Terminus snapped.

"Annabeth, you sure about this?" Leo asked, eyeing his ship defensively. The _Argo II _was Leo's baby.

Annabeth waved him off. "It'll be fine," she shrugged. "Come on." She extended a rope ladder towards the Roman forum.

"Please don't destroy anything!" Terminus pleaded.

Rosie turned to Leo with a grin as Annabeth began climbing down, Jason and Piper lingering behind her.

"New Rome isn't ready for us," she grinned, holding her hand up for a high five.

He grinned and eagerly returned it. "Let's go meet some toga-cladded humans!" He leaned in closer to her. "Also, what are the chances Jason is going to trip on his?"

"Oh, one hundred percent," she said, laughing and beginning to climb down after Piper.

The Romans looked at them with fascination. She felt like a science project on display, like students were crowding around a microscope to look at her, like _Ooh, look at the Greeks out of their natural habitat!_

Her eyes laser focused on the person she had thought about for months-she instantly knew it was him from the pictures Annabeth showed. From the dreams she had.

Percy Jackson. Her brother.

He was standing there, wearing a purple toga. He was taller than her; his eyes were a bit more greenish-blue, compared to her pale blue eyes. He had darker hair too; his verged on the point of being black. Even with small differences, she knew they looked like siblings.

She could tell by his expression that he only had eyes for Annabeth.

"I see the family resemblance," Leo whispered to her.

She smirked at him, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. "Shut up."

"What do you guys do in your free time? Speak seahorse?"

"I'd tell you," she said, lowering her tone dramatically, "but then the seahorses would have to kill you."

They both laughed, as someone standing besides Percy caught her eye. It was a girl, maybe a little younger than them, frowning at Rosie and Leo. She had dark skin and curly brown hair, and she clutched her Calvary helmet tightly. Rosie didn't like the way she was frowning at them...what was this girl's problem? Did the Romans not know how to laugh?

She found herself shutting up, putting her guard up, and standing closer to her friends. Leo seemed to notice the girl too, for he frowned and crossed his arms.

Standing on the other side of Percy was another kid, a boy about their age. He was Asian, and pretty huge. He reminded Rosie of an oversized baby. He had a black buzz cut, and was looking at them with an intense, scrutinizing gaze.

The crowd of Romans parted, and a girl in Roman armor and a dark purple cloak strode forward, decorated in metals. She was confident, head held high as she walked forward, black hair cascading in waves towards her shoulders.

Reyna- this has to be her. She was the- what had Jason called it? The praetor? She exuded power and courage, and maybe a little fear? Still, Rosie had no doubt that this girl could probably beat her up.

Rosie glanced sideways at Jason, who was standing next to Piper. This had to be weird for him, coming back _home_\- except he didn't think of this place as home. At least, Rosie didn't think he did.

Reyna straightened up, stepping towards them.

"Jason Grace, my former...colleague. I welcome you home."

This wasn't Jason's home, she thought stubbornly.

Was Jason standing taller? He looked so...soldier-like.

"Thank you, Reyna," he said graciously, bowing his head. "I appreciate-"

Annabeth suddenly ran forward, nervously Roman campers reaching for weapons that weren't there. Percy rushed forward, throwing his arms around her. The two of them passionately kissed- Rosie had to admit, that was pretty cute. She silently admonished herself for being so suspicious of Percy- if he was good enough for someone like Annabeth, shouldn't that be enough?

Percy broke from Annabeth. "Gods, I never thought-"

Annabeth grabbed his wrist, flipping Percy over her shoulder and slamming him into the stone floor. Rosie let out a slightly inappropriate sputter of laughter as Romans ran forward, yelling.

"Hold!" Reyna cried. "Stand down!

Annabeth put her knee on Percy's chest. "Do that again, and _I swear_-"

Percy managed to let out a laugh. "Duly noted," he said. "I missed you too."

This seemed to satisfy Annabeth, for she helped him up.

Jason cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, yeah. Good to be back." He pulled Piper forward. "This is Piper McLean, the daughter of Aphro-er, I mean, Venus."

"Yeah, hi," Piper grumbled, probably annoyed she didn't get a chance to say her lines.

Jason pointed to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign. "Leo Valdez, Son of Vulcan. And Rosie's over there, Daughter of Neptune-"

Percy's eyes widened, as he glanced at her, a look of pure shock on his face. Rosie felt like shriveling up at his gaze.

"Neptune?" The kid with the buzz cut asked, frowning. He glanced at the girl who was staring at Rosie and Leo. "I thought Percy-"

"Not right now, Frank," Reyna admonished gently.

She could've sworn the Roman campers shifted uncomfortably, staring at her with uneasy eyes. The girl with the Cavalry helmet was still frowning at her and Leo.

"This is Annabeth," Jason said quickly. "Uh, normally she doesn't usually judo-flip people."

Reyna smirked. "You are positive you're not a Roman, Annabeth? Or an Amazon?"

Rosie still felt unsettled- she could feel Percy's eyes on her.

Annabeth held out her hand to Reyna. "Don't worry, I save that kind of attack for my boyfriend," she said. "Pleasure to meet you."

Reyna shook her hand firmly. "It appears we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"

Some of the Roman campers hustled forward, including the two that were standing by Percy. Reyna began listing off orders to them.

"Dakota," she was saying in an authoritative tone. "Alert the spirits in the kitchen."

"_Sweet_," Leo cried under his breath. "There's going to be food!"

A tall guy with stringy blond hair pushed his way through the crowd, looking annoyed. Were those teddy bears hanging from his belt? "Reyna, you can't possible let these _intruders_ into the camp. The security risks-"

They were really giving off a great first impression.

"We won't be taking them to camp, Octavian," Reyna replied coolly. "We'll be eating in the forum."

"Oh, really? That's _much better_," Octavian grumbled. "You want us to relax in the shadow of that...that..._monstrosity_!"

"If one more person calls my ship a monstrosity," Leo grumbled under his breath. "I will implode."

"Octavian," Reyna started slowly. "May I remind you that these are our guests. We are going to welcome them and talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."

"Good idea," Percy piped in. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."

Octavian loudly huffed away, shooting all of them looks as he did.

"Excellent," Reyna said, turning to Jason, smiling at him. "Let's talk. We need a proper reunion."

* * *

**A/N: And we're off! If you read this and are very confused as to who Rosie is, I recommend reading the first part of this story, Faltering Foundations.**

**Hope you guys liked the first chapter! I wanted to post this now, just so you guys could get a feel of the story. I won't be able to update as often as did with FF, but you can still expect regular updates. **


	2. Danger All Around the World

Piper linked arms with Rosie as they started walking towards the forum.

"I didn't get to say my lines," she complained.

"I don't think they like me here," Rosie mused thoughtfully.

"Just wanted the chance to say _one line_-"

"Did you see the way that kid was looking at me? Frank? Like I was the watery layer of yogurt-"

"I _feel_ like the watery layer of yogurt," Piper grumbled. "Reyna said _colleague_, right?"

"I'm feeling freaked, Freckles," Leo said, appearing and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Say that five times fast," she muttered.

"Why was that girl staring at us? Is there something on my face?"

"Oh my god, you saw it too, right?"

"Yes!" He exclaimed. "What was that about-_whoa_, the Romans know how to eat!"

The Roman forum was a setup of couches and low tables, almost resembling a furniture showroom. Wind spirits swirled overheard, bringing in tons of food: pizzas, sandwiches, chips, etc.

Someone grabbed Rosie from behind, lifting her up. Rosie let out a startled yelp as she was swung around.

"What's _happening_?!" She exclaimed to her friends.

Leo frowned. "Uh-"

"Sister, sister, sister, sister!" Someone chanted, jolting her with each 'sister'.

Annabeth saw this and smiled. "That, Rosie," she said. "Is your brother, Tyson."

Rosie was dropped. Once she regained her footing, she managed to make eye contact with Tyson- is it still called eye contact if the other person only has one eye? Tyson had messy brown hair, a huge smile, and one eye smack in the middle of his face.

"I am your brother!" Tyson said excitedly.

"I...I figured! I'm Rosie, your...ah, sister." Rosie said, feeling everyone's stares.

Tyson wrapped a huge arm around her, waving to Percy. "Brother! Brother! We have a sister! A pretty sister named Rosie!"

That comment was sweet. Rosie felt a smile spread on her face- she liked Tyson. She didn't have good experiences with cyclops in the past, but Tyson made up for it.

Percy nodded, giving him a small smile. "I see, buddy. That is our sister."

Our sister. That was weird- she hadn't had that title in _so long_. And it was different this time around- she was never a younger sister, always a protective, somewhat bossy older sister.

"You have to meet Ella!" Tyson said. He suddenly pushed through the crowd of people. "I'm getting Ella for my pretty sister Rosie!"

Piper was laughing. "Your brother is _so cute_!"

"I know," Rosie smiled. "I think I like him."

"He is a sweetheart," Annabeth piped up, Percy standing silently at her side.

They sat down, along with Reyna, Octavian, Percy, and Percy's two friends. Rosie sat in between Leo and Piper, the frowning girl across from them.

Leo immediately dug into the food. "Sup," He said to the girl sitting across from them. "Name's Leo. Could you pass the hot sauce?"

"Hazel," she responded, a dull red rising in her cheeks as she quickly passed the hot sauce.

"Oh my god, you're _not_ putting hot sauce on a taco-" Rosie began.

"What's wrong with that?" Leo asked defensively as he began to slather it on his taco.

"That's like putting _mustard_ on _eggs_-"

"That was one time!"

Rosie looked at Hazel. "How about you? Hot sauce on tacos: yay or nay?"

Hazel looked utterly confused. "What?"

"To Friendship," Reyna stiffly interrupted, raising her soda glass. "To...new friends."

After some formal introductions, Jason began telling the group their story, how they ended up freeing Hera from imprisonment at the Wolf House.

Octavian laughed. "The Wolf House? _Impossible_! That's our sacred ground. If the giants had imprisoned Juno there-"

"They would've destroyed her," Piper shot in. "And blamed it on the Greeks, starting a war between the camps. No, _shut up_, and let Jason finish."

Rosie grinned as she took another bite of her taco. Having Piper as a charmspeaker never failed to help tremendously.

Reyna's eyes narrowed, darting in between Jason and Piper, like she was connecting the dots of their relationship.

"So," Jason continued telling their story. "That's how we found out about the earth goddess-Gaea. She's half-asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants."

_And she's in my head_, Rosie thought. _Because that's not totally alarming._

"We fought their leader, Porphyrion, at the Wolf House," Jason continued. "He said he was retreating to the ancient lands. Greece. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by...what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."

Percy nodded, confirming this. "Gaea's been busy over too, we had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

_She's also in my head! Did I mention that?_

Percy told their side of the story, how he traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel- defeating the giant Alcyoneus, freeing the death god Thanatos, and returning with some lost golden eagle to repel an attack by the Giant's army.

Jason looked impressed and slightly intimidated when he finished talking. "Wow- I can see why they made you praetor."

Octavian rolled his eyes, and Rosie groaned under her breath before he even started talking. "Which means we have _three_ praetors! The rules clearly state that only two are allowed." He looked at Jason. "No offense, we thought you were dead for a while."

"I've missed you too, Octavian," Jason said, shaking his head.

"Since Jason and I are both praetors," Percy said to Octavian. "That means we both outrank you- meaning we can both tell you to shut up."

Okay, she couldn't deny it- Percy was funny. She didn't think they would have a lot in common despite both being Poseidon kids, but maybe humor was one thing.

Jason gave Percy a fist bump. Rosie held in a snort, exchanging a look with Piper- were they watching a budding bromance?

"We'll figure out the extra praetor problem later," Reyna said. "Right now, we have to focus on the more serious issues."

"I can step down," Percy said, shrugging. "It's no biggie."

"_No biggie?!_" Octavian shrieked. "The praetorship of Rome is _no biggie_?!"

Percy turned to Jason. "You're Thalia's brother, huh? You guys look nothing alike." She could've sworn Percy shot her a glance as he said this.

"Yeah," Jason nodded. "I noticed. Anyways, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did a great job."

_My _camp- she didn't like the sound of that.

"Back at you," Percy said.

Annabeth swiftly kicked her boyfriend under the table. "Let's focus, boys," she ordered. "We should talk about the Great Prophecy. You guys are aware of it, I'm assuming?"

Leo was going stir crazy- she could tell he had been sitting for too long. He was beginning to construct a pinwheel out of the aluminum taco wrappers. She silently passed hers to him, holding in her giggle.

Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of the Eight. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"

"Of course," Octavian scoffed. "But, Reyna-"

"Recite it," Reyna ordered. "In English, please."

Octavian sighed. "_Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall-"_

"_An oath to keep with a final breath," _Annabeth continued. "_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death_."

Leo was now sticking the pinwheel in passing wind spirits. Rosie rolled her eyes at him, smiling.

The big kid-Frank- sat forward, staring at Annabeth as if she had grown another head. "It's true, then? You're a child of Min-I mean, Athena?"

Geez, did this kid need DNA proof from everyone?

"Yes," Annabeth answered defensively. "What's the problem with that?"

"If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess-" Octavian started.

"That's enough," Reyna said. "Annabeth is what she says she is. She's here in peace. Besides..Percy has spoken..._highly_ of her."

Percy suddenly looked very interested in his cheeseburger, and it clicked for Rosie- had Reyna wanted Percy?

Annabeth had gone pale. "Um...thank you," she said. "At least some of the prophecy is clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death...that means Romans and Greeks. We have to join together to find those doors."

"My brother Nico went looking for the Doors," Hazel spoke up.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Nico DiAngelo is your brother?"

Hazel nodded.

Annabeth looked at Frank. "What's your parentage?"

"Mars," he answered. Seriously- Frank was an Ares kid? He didn't exactly strike Rosie as that type.

"Um. Okay. You were saying, Hazel?"

"Nico disappeared," Hazel said, frowning. "I'm afraid...I don't know, I think something happened to him."

"We'll look for him," Percy promised her. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyways. Thanatos told us we'd find the answers in Rome- the _original _Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"

"Thanatos told you that?" Annabeth asked, aghast. "The Death god?"

"Now that Death is free," Percy said. "Monsters can disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."

Piper was playing with the feather in her hair. "Like water leaking through a dam," she suggested.

Percy nodded, laughing to himself. "Yeah," He said. "We got a dam hole."

"Excuse me?" Piper asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Percy said quickly. "Sorry- inside joke. The point is we need to find those doors and close them before we head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."

Reyna was turning an apple over in her hands. "You want to run an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands-and the Mare Nostrum- are dangerous?"

Leo put down the pinwheel. "Sorry, Mary who?"

"Mare Nostrum," Jason corrected. "Our Sea- it's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean."

Reyna nodded. "He's right. The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods. It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants...and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse."

Oh, joy. That's exactly what they needed.

"You said Alaska would be bad, Reyna," Percy reminded her. "We survived that."

Reyna sighed. "Percy...traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."

Rosie laughed out loud, eliciting stares from the other Romans. "Well it's a good thing we're all crazy, then, right?"

Reyna stared at her intensely. Rosie frowned and stood up straighter in her seat. Reyna had that effect on people.

Leo quickly jumped to her defense. "The _Argo II _is a state-of-the-art warship. She'll get us through."

"We'll have to hurry," Jason commented. "Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She's been invading dreams, appearing in places-"

_Like my head._

"-summoning more and more monsters. We have to stop the giants before she wakes fully."

Annabeth shivered, sighing. "_Eight half-bloods must answer the call_," she spoke. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Leo, Rosie, and me. That's five."

"And me," Percy volunteered. "And Hazel and Frank, if they want to come. That makes eight."

Octavian angrily shot to his feet. "What?!" He exclaimed. "We're expected to just accept that?! Without a vote? Without a proper debate-"

"Percy!" Tyson bounded in on what appeared to be a large dog. Sitting behind him was a sickly-looking chicken girl.

Tyson came over to their couch, looking nervous and concerned. "Ella is scared," he said.

"No-no more boats," Ella muttered to herself. "_Titanic, Lusitania, Pax_...boats are not made for harpies."

Leo blinked. "Did that chicken girl just call my ship the _Titanic?"_

"She's not a chicken," Hazel averted her eyes, as if she couldn't stand the thought of looking at Leo. "She's a harpy. Ella's just a little...high-strung."

"Ella is pretty," Tyson said. "Pretty like Rosie. But Ella is scared- we need to take her away, but no ships."

"No ships," Ella repeated. She looked straight at Annabeth. "Bad luck. There she is. Wisdom's daughter walks alone."

Frank quickly stood. "Ella! Maybe now's not the best time-"

"_The Mark of Athena burns through Rome_," Ella continued. "_Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail._"

Everyone went silent. Whatever Ella was talking about, it didn't sound great. Rosie noticed Annabeth's face had gone completely pale.

Percy stood, taking Tyson's arm. "Hey! How about you take Ella for some fresh air! You and Mrs. O'Leary-"

"Hold on." Octavian was squeezing one of the bears hanging from his belt. "What was she saying? That sounds like-"

"Ella's a reader," Frank blurted out. "Probably just something from one of her books!"

"Yes!" Hazel cried. "Just something from one of her books."

"Books," Ella muttered helpfully. "Ella likes books."

They were hiding something- Percy, Frank, and Hazel.

"That was a prophecy," Octavian insisted. "It had to be."

Percy shot Annabeth a look.

Annabeth nervously laughed, a high-pitched sputter. "Really? Maybe harpies are different here, but ours have just enough intelligence to cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future? Do you consult them for your auguries?"

The Roman officers laughed nervously, visibly relaxing.

Octavian blushed. "No, but-"

Annabeth waved him off. "Hazel's right," she said. "It's just something from a book. We already have a real prophecy to worry about." She turned to Tyson. "Why don't you take Ella and Mrs. O'Leary and shadow-travel for a while? Ella, you good with that?"

Ella nodded happily. "Large dogs are good," she said. "_Old Yeller_, 1957, screenplay by Fred Gipson and William Tunberg."

Percy smiled. "Great! We'll catch up with you guys later."

Reyna was unbelievably unreadable. At the last second, she nodded. "Go."

"Yay!" Tyson went around, giving everyone a hug.

He hugged Rosie tightly. "Bye, pretty sister! And pretty sister's friends!"

He climbed on the dog's back with Ella, and they rode out of the forum. Rosie hoped she would see him again.

"Well," Reyna said. "Octavian is correct about one thing- we must gain permission from the senate before we let any of our legionnaires go on quest- especially one as dangerous as this one."

"This whole thing smells treacherous," Octavian muttered. "That warship is not a ship of peace."

Leo leaned forward. "Come aboard, man. Rosie and I can give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good, we'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear."

Rosie stifled a laugh. "We can even do karaoke-we'll sing the Banana boat song."

Octavian snarled at them. "How dare-"

"Go, Octavian," Reyna ordered. "Go with them. See their ship. We'll convene a senate meeting in one hour."

"But…" he sighed, defeated. "Fine."

Leo and Rosie stood.

"We'll be back," Leo promised. "This is gonna be epic!"

Rosie placed an arm around a frowning Octavian. "You, my friend, are in for a treat."

* * *

**SEASBLU- thanks for the kind words! glad you're enjoying this so far **


	3. The Art of Decapitating Stuffed Animals

Rosie and Leo liked to mess with people. It was kind of their thing.

Octavian was no exception to this.

It didn't help that he was already highly suspicious of them to begin with.

"Stand in front of me," he ordered. "I'm not allowing you guys to be behind me and suddenly _bam_!"

"Bam!" Rosie turned to Leo. "What a _descriptive_ word."

"What kind of bam are we talking about?" Leo questioned, hand on his chin. "Like a big bam or a small bam-"

"Enough!" Octavian snapped. "You know what I mean- I'm not giving you two the opportunity to attack me. Walk in front."

Rosie and Leo obliged, walking in front of him.

"Laugh," Rosie instructed under her breath.

Leo started heartily laughed, Rosie joining him in with over-the-top, dramatic laughter.

"What? What are you talking about?" Octavian questioned from the back.

Rosie feigned shock, turning around. "Oh, gosh- you heard us? I'm _so_ sorry-"

"That's it," he grumbled. "Get behind me!"

Leo furrowed his brow in mock confusion. "But you said to walk in front of you."

"Walk behind me, you fools!"

"Let me get this straight," Rosie said slowly. "You want us to not walk in front of you?"

"That's it." Octavian walked in front of them. "Move it."

They were walking towards the rope ladder of the _Argo II_.

Leo leaned in closer to her. "With the two of us, we can take him," he whispered. "I'll hold him while you punch."

She laughed, causing Octavian to whip around and glare at them.

Rosie quickly looked down. "Ah, yes, the stock market," she muttered in a scholarly tone.

Leo stifled a laugh.

Octavian rolled his eyes, grabbing onto the rope ladder.

"You need help, man?" Leo asked. "Sometimes it's hard for people with no upper body strength."

"I'm _fine!_" He snapped, climbing up the ladder. "Just surprised this monstrosity can keep afloat in the sky."

"And I'm surprised you can stand up straight with that big head of yours," Rosie said to him, following him up the ladder. "And yet here we are."

Leo snorted underneath her, the three of them climbing onto the deck.

"So this is the _Argo II_," Leo recited in his best tour guide voice. "Please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle for the duration of the tour."

"Is that a dragon?" Octavian asked, looking suspiciously at Festus.

"That, Octagon," Rosie said. "Is our fearless masthead, Festus."

Festus creaked at them happily. Leo and Rosie were the only ones who could communicate with him, through Morse code-like messages.

"_Octavian_," Octavian snapped at her.

"That's what I said."

"No-"

"After you, kind sir," Leo said, motioning towards the lower deck.

"Oh, goody," Octavian muttering, walking down the stairs.

They took him to meet Coach Hedge first. Coach was in his cabin, watching old reruns of mixed martial art matches.

"Sock him!" He was yelling at the tiny TV screen. "Sock him good!"

"Yo, Coach!" Leo said, hitting the doorpost. "This is Octopus."

"Octagon," Rosie corrected.

"_Octavian_\- my name is Octavian," he said haughtily.

Coach raised his eyebrows, suspicious. "Reiger, this an enemy? Should I get my club? Maybe we can attack before the commercials are over?"

Rosie shrugged, giving Octavian a once-over. "Eh," she said. "Maybe later. We'll see how Octagon behaves."

"How have my cupcakes been treating you?" Coach asked Octavian.

Octavian laughed humorlessly. "_Terribly_, why thank you!"

"Aw, Octopus, it's our pleasure!" Leo replied.

Octavian rolled his eyes, walking out of Coach's cabin in a huff.

Leo grinned at Rosie. "Nothing like a Greek's welcome, huh?"

Coach shook his head, tuning back in to his show. "You two," He said. "You two can be a real pain in the _bootay_."

"Thanks, Coach!" Rosie grabbed Leo's hand, the two of them running out after Octavian.

He was inspecting Leo's cabin, as Leo quickly ran over to shut the door.

"Is there a reason you have a _drill _on your bed?" Octavian asked in a suspicious tone.

"Come on, October, don't be nosy," Leo said, pushing him along. "Go check out the stables."

Octavian turned his nose upward, walking down the hall to the stables.

"There are no horses in here," he said, looking around the empty stables.

"A+ for being observant!" Leo clapped him on the back.

"I'm sure this is where you do god-knows-_what _with horses," Octavian said, glaring at Rosie.

"Dude, gross," she said, shaking her head.

Octavian reddened. "You know what I mean. I know what children of Neptune are."

"Amazingly attractive?" She said, batting her eyelashes.

"Ha, _please_! I know they communicate with horses."

Rosie paused. "You know what else we communicate with?"

He narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Rosie held up one of his stuffed beanie babies, a bear she swiped when he wasn't looking.

"Hey!" He shouted, annoyed. "Give that back!"

"_We love you, Octavian_," she said in a high-pitched, demonic voice, pretending it was coming out of the bear.

Octavian ripped the bear out of her hands, stuffing it into his belt. "You may be laughing now, Daughter of Neptune, but-"

"Okay!" Leo cut in. "Continuing the tour, please walk back upstairs! Thank you!"

Octavian rolled his eyes, going back onto the upper deck. Once Rosie reached it, he whipped around, laser-focusing on her. Rosie couldn't help but feel a cold chill on the deck...what was that?

"You want to know why Romans hate the children of Neptune?"

"No, and I don't really want to hear it."

"The earthquake of 1906."

"A little before my time there, buddy."

"Shen Lun- a despicable descendant of Neptune. He was blamed for the earthquake- of course, Frank Zhang cleared his name on their little trek to Alaska, which was a _relief._ But the sentiment held- we're not really the earthquake type, you know?"

She glared at him. "Good thing that's not me."

"And did you see Percy Jackson's face? Not too pleased if you ask me-"

"That's _it_!" She exclaimed, angrily marching forward, grabbing one of the bears and her dagger.

"What are you doing?!"

In one clean motion, she sliced off the bear's head, throwing the two parts at Octavian. "This quest affects you too, you know!" She screamed at him. "You may not _like it_, but that doesn't change the fact that it has to happen!"

Octavian looked frightened. He was shaking, staring at something behind Rosie. "Look-"

"I am speaking!" She shrieked, stomping her foot. "You can't just walk onto _our ship _and suddenly attack us! Are you kidding-"

Octavian roughly grabbed Rosie, turning her to the side. "_Look_!"

Leo was standing calmly by the ballista, his entire arm engulfed in flames.

"What is he _doing_?!" Octavian shrieked.

Rosie blinked at Leo, wondering the same exact thing. Maybe taking the mess with Octavian joke a little too far? "Um...I'm sure he's kidding. He gets weird when he's...uh, hungry? Yeah-hungry." That sounded good. She took a step forward cautiously. "Leo?"

Leo didn't look right- his eyes were glazed over, and he seemed to be frozen.

"Destroy….them…" he muttered to himself. "Destroy...them...all."

It happened so fast.

Octavian screaming.

The flames traveling up further Leo's arm.

Setting a spear on fire.

The screams from down below as Leo shot the spear into the ground.

"_He's going to kill us all!" _Octavian shrieked.

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**radoddish- thank you thank you! glad you like it so far**

**SEASBLU- what a compliment, thank you!**

**happy birthday percy jackson!**


	4. We're Off to See Topeka!

Rosie didn't know what to do. The panic quickly set in, as she began to run in circles.

"_Shit_! What do we do? What do we do? What is _he doing_?" She exclaimed, looking like a crazy person.

Leo looked perfectly calm, as he began to reload the ballista again.

She grabbed Octavian. "You have to help me!" She hissed. "There's something wrong with him-"

"Treachery!" He screamed, shaking and walking backwards towards the rope ladder.

"I will decapitate more of your bears!" She threatened hysterically.

"Fool's quest! War on the Greeks!"

"Octavian!"

"Good luck surviving this!" He said, disappearing from view.

Rosie had no choice but to charge Leo. She ran up to Leo, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Leo! Leo! Snap out of it!"

Leo continued walking robotically towards the catapults. Rosie was vaguely aware of shouts and screams from below, arrows whizzing onto the ship.

"Destroy them," he repeated, montone. "Destroy them all."

An explosion shook the ship. "No!" She slapped him; no change. "Snap out of it! Leo? Leo, it's me, Rosie!"

It was no use. Leo proceeded to shoot again into the crowd. Rosie peered over the railing, seeing a distant Jason and Piper being surrounded by a lot of angry Romans.

The ship started shuddering, as if it was knocked off course. She peered up at the sail, only to see that it was on fire.

"Leo, come on," she pleaded, trying to reason with him. This Leo was different: cold, determined, unrelenting. "Stop! Coach! _Coach_!" Where was Hedge?"

Annabeth and Percy appeared, shocked look on their faces.

"_Rosie_! What the hell-" Annabeth broke off, taking in the scene.

"I don't know! _Help_!" She turned back around, only for Leo's fist to meet her face in a sickening _crack_. Rosie crumpled on the floor, moaning in pain.

A second later, Leo fell to the ground with a thump, Percy tackling him from behind.

Percy glared at Rosie on the ground, standing up. "Did he do that on _purpose?_" He asked, addressing her for the first time.

"No!" she cried.

A dragon appeared on deck- now that couldn't be right. The dragon deposited Jason and Piper on board, both of whom fell into a heap. The dragon turned into Frank. She made a mental note to come back to that.

"_Really_?!" Percy exclaimed.

She stood, the entire world spinning and blacks dots appearing in her vision.

"_Yes_," she insisted, staggering. "I don't know what happened- one second he was _fine_-"

Piper stepped forward, her face creases with worry. "Octavian looks _mad_-"

"I kind of decapitated one of his bears," Rosie admitted, black dots appearing in her vision.

"Annabeth, get us out of here!" Percy commanded, glaring at Rosie.

Annabeth ran forward to the helm, yanking the aviation throttle back, the ship tilting dangerous upward as it started to fly away.

"I'm telling you-" Rosie said, stepping forward. The dizziness made her stagger dangerously.

Everything went black as she fell into Piper's arms.

She woke up with a migraine. Rosie groaned, turning onto her side. She was in the bed in her cabin.

She soon realized she wasn't alone. Frank, one of the Roman demigods, was sitting in her desk chair, watching her intently. Totally not creepy.

"Do you make it a habit to watch girls while they sleep?" She asked groggily from bed.

Frank reddened, glancing down at the ground. "God, _no_, that's not- Annabeth said-"

Rosie slowly rose to an upright position in bed, closing her eyes and pinching her nose. "Shhh," she told Frank. "Buzzing noise in my head."

Frank paused. "Can I get yo-"

"At least it's drowning out the Gregorian monks."

"_What_?" He asked, utterly confused.

"Did you need something?" She asked, annoyed.

Frank shrugged sheepishly, turning beet red. "Annabeth told me to wait for you to wake up."

"I see you took it quite seriously."

"Um, yeah?"

Rosie got up from her bed, ignoring her pounding head as she walked towards the door, opening it. "Where _is _everyone?" She asked, poking head out of the hallway.

"Annabeth and Percy had to get tar. Hazel and Leo went to get lime, I think," he said, nervously wringing his hands together. "I'm supposed to ask you what happened with Leo-"

She pushed past Frank, spilling into the hallway. "Piper? Jason?" Where were they?

A door opened to Rosie's left, and Piper walked out, followed by Jason, a huge cut on his forehead.

"Where are we?" Rosie asked.

"Salt Lake City. Hey, how are you feeling?" Piper asked, grabbing her arm and making a face. "Ew, gross, you have a black eye."

"What happened to _you_?" Rosie asked Jason, eyebrows raised. "You've looked better."

"Brick. Angry Romans. What happened to _you_? You've looked better," he says, a knowing look on his face.

Rosie's mouth dropped, horrified. "Oh god, I pulled a _Jason_, didn't I?"

Jason frowned. "Pulled a _Jason-_"

"What happened to Leo?" Piper asked.

Rosie shook her head. "I have _no _idea," she said, shaking her head. "One minute he was fine, and the next minute he was setting himself on fire and loading the ballista."

"Wait," Frank cut in, looking exponentially more nervous. "Leo's a fire user?"

"_No," _Piper said, clearly horrified and ignoring Frank. "How could this happen? You don't think...with the stress of building the ship…" she trailed off, a worried look on her face.

"What? That Leo snapped?" Rosie asked, gasping. "No, he- he couldn't have, right? It's Leo. That's-no, it's impossible."

"He did fire a few times," Frank muttered nervously.

Rosie glared at him. "_Yes, _I think the black eye on my face would explain that."

Jason held up his hands. "Let's all relax," he said. "We're on the same team, remember?" He handed Rosie some nectar. "You should really put some ice on that."

She shot him a look. "Really-"

They heard the sound of footsteps approaching, as Leo and Hazel appeared, carrying a sheet of hammered bronze.

Rosie nearly choked at the sight of Leo- his hair greased back, wedding goggles on his forehead, lipstick smudges on his cheek, a t-shirt reading stuff like HOT STUFF and BAD BOY and TEAM LEO.

She bent over laughing, Piper joining in.

Leo sighed. "Long story," he said. "Are the others back?"

"Not yet," Piper said between laughs. Leo cursed.

"Hey, this almost makes up for the fact that you _punched me in the face_," Rosie said, finishing the sentence with a glare.

Leo winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'll be in the engine room."

He ran off with the bronze sheet, Rosie rolling her eyes and calling out, "I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking!"

Piper looked at Hazel. "Team Leo?" She asked in a confused tone.

"We met Narcissus," Hazel explained.

Rosie furrowed her brow. "Narcissus as in narcissistic?"

"The very one," Hazel said. "Nemesis-the revenge goddess- too."

Jason sighed. "I miss all the fun."

Rosie snorted at him. "That's what we get for pulling a Jason."

Annabeth and Percy came running down the hall. Percy was holding a five-gallon plastic bucket, something that smelled terrible. Annabeth had patches of black sticky stuff in her hair.

"Roofing tar?" Piper guessed.

"Tar monsters," Annabeth answered, grinning. "Rosie, glad you're awake! Hazel, where's Leo?"

She pointed down. "Engine room."

The entire ship suddenly shuddered, sending Rosie into Jason, who balanced her.

"What is that?" Percy asked.

Hazel blushed. "We may or may not have angered the nymphs who live in the lake. Like all of them."

Percy groaned. "Great." He handed the bucket of tar to Frank and Annabeth. "Help Leo."

The two of them sprinted off.

Percy looked at the group of them left. "I'll hold off the water spirits as long as I can."

Finally something for her to do. She began sprinting after Percy. "Ooh, I'll help!"

"It's alright, I got it!" He yelled over his shoulder, waving her off.

"No, I won't!" She muttered to herself, turning herself around.

Piper and Jason shot her sympathetic looks. Hazel was hugging her stomach, looking green.

Rosie and Piper exchanged a look, unsure of what to say to her.

"I'll just…" Hazel gulped, running off to her cabin.

Jason, Rosie, and Piper stayed below, listening to the yells from above and Leo's crazy antics down below. Occasionally, Hazel would moan from her cabin.

"Who else is feeling pretty freaking useless?" Piper asked.

Jason, Rosie, and then Piper all lifted their hands up.

After what seemed like forever, the engine finally began to hum. The oaks groaned, and Rosie felt the ship lift into the air.

Leo emerged from the engine room, grinning madly. He was caked in sweat and tar, his t-shirt completely shredded.

"Man, what a rush," he grinned. "Meeting in the mess hall, one hour."

The tension in the dining hall was palpable.

Maybe it was because it was the first time they- the Eight- were all together.

Things got off to an awkward start. Both Jason and Percy tried to sit at the head of the table.

"Er-" Jason quickly stood, sparks coming from his hands. "Go ahead-"

"No, you-"

"For god's sakes," Annabeth grumbled, sitting down in the seat.

Rosie sat across from Frank and Hazel, and next to Leo. She liked the Mess Hall- Leo had programmed it to show real-time images of Camp Half-Blood. In a way, it made her sad- she ached for her home. Days spent in the Bunker with Leo and his cabinmates. Eating Breakfast with Jason and Piper. Movie nights with Piper.

"Where to?" Leo asked, chewing his pizza. "There's still a lot of damage to the ship, I'll need to put it down again and fix it up before we head over the Atlantic."

"Alright," Annabeth said, straightening up. "I guess we should start with what happened in Salt Lake City, since some of us were...er, _indisposed._"

Rosie avoided her eyes, taking a bite of her pepperoni pizza.

"Leo and I ran into Nemesis," Hazel offered. "She was...um, it wasn't a great experience."

"That's an understatement," Leo grumbled. "You shoot _one ballista_-"

"By accident," Rosie quickly cut in, not loving the nervous looks Percy and Frank were giving her.

"Nico, my brother…" Hazel shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Something's wrong-she said we only had six days until he died and Rome is destroyed."

"Rome?" Jason asked, raising his eyebrows and fiddling with his cup. "Like _Rome _Rome?"

She nodded, not meeting Jason's eyes. "Yeah, I think so. Even so, that's not a lot of time."

"Why six days?" Percy asked, looking restless. "And how are they going to destroy Rome?"

"When in Rome, huh?" Rosie said, trying to lighten the mood.

Hazel and Frank stared at her with equally horrified looks.

Rosie faltered. "Uh, it's a joke," she muttered, picking at the pepperoni on her plate.

Percy cleared his throat. Rosie wondered why he was eating blue pie. "We should probably get as far away from Camp Jupiter as possible. Frank spotted some eagles over us before."

Frank frowned. "Yeah, they aren't far behind."

Piper winced, her avocado and pepper quesadilla untouched in front of her. "Maybe we should go back? I- I could've tried hard with the charmspeak."

Jason grabbed her hand. "No, Piper- it wasn't your fault. Or Leo's or Rosie's. It was to drive the two camps apart- it was Gaea's doing."

_Nowhere is safe._ She realized with a chill that Gaea was right.

Piper looked nauseated. "But maybe we could explain that? I-"

"They don't exactly seem like the talk-it-out type," Rosie pointed it out. "More like the shoot first, talk later type." She glanced at Frank and Hazel. "No offense."

Hazel shrugged. "I mean, you're kinda right." Rosie noticed that the rim of her plate was embedded with rubies- how had that happened? "Reyna would probably listen, but Octavian...not so much."

"Yeah, he might still be a little annoyed about...um, a certain decapitation," Percy said, glancing at Rosie.

"Bear had it coming," Rosie muttered under her breath.

Piper sighed, placing a piece of hair behind her ear. "I-there's actually more. I've been seeing things in my knife."

Frank choked on some pasta. "I'm sorry, _what_?"

"I don't really know, to be honest," Piper said. "It's all garbled images. Like two giants, dressed alike. Maybe twins?Um, they're both dressed in yellow and grabbing some sort of jar from a deep pit."

This was the first Rosie was hearing about this.

"Twins," Annabeth commented softly, a distant look in her eyes. "Like Ella's prophecy."

"_Wisdom's daughter walks alone_," Percy recited. "_The Mark of Athena burns through Rome. _Annabeth, that has to mean you. Juno told me you have a hard task ahead of you in Rome. She said she doubted you could do it- I know she's wrong."

"Yeah, Hera tends to do that," Leo said, balancing a fork on his head.

"Reyna was going to tell me something before...uh, things happened," Annabeth said. "She said there was some old legend among the praetors- something that had to do with Athena. She said it partially was the reason why Romans and Greeks never got along."

The fork clattered onto the floor, as Leo glanced at Hazel nervously.

"Nemesis mentioned something like that," Leo muttered. "An old score that had to be settled-"

"The one thing that might bring the gods' two natures into harmony," Hazel finished. "An old wrong finally avenged."

"Speaking from my praetor experience of two hours," Percy spoke up, frowning. "I haven't heard of a legend like that. Jason, you got anything?"

Jason nearly jumped out of his seat, the tips of his ears turning red. "Uh-no. I don't know. Doesn't ring a bell...I'll think about it."

"You'll _think_ about it?" Percy asked, incredulous.

Piper was giving Jason her worried face, as he shot Leo and Rosie a pleading look.

"The other lines!" Rosie blurted out. Everyone turned to stare at her.

"Er, right!" Leo exclaimed. "We should focus on the other lines."

"_Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death_," Hazel recited.

"_Giants' bane stands gold and pale_," Frank added. "_Won through pain from a woven jail_."

Leo drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "Giant's bane," Leo said. "That's good, right? That's probably what we need to find. If it can help the gods get their conflicted act together, that's good."

Percy nodded. "We need to work with the gods to kill the giants."

Rosie rolled her eyes- like she wanted _their _help. She looked at Frank and Hazel. "See, that's what we say, but didn't you two kill that giant in Alaska by yourselves?"

"That was the exception," Frank told her, shaking his head. "He was only immortal in the territory where he was reborn-Alaska. But not in Canada. It's just not feasible to kill all the giants by dragging them across the border. We need the gods."

Rosie sunk into her seat. She was still so hesitant when it came to the gods. She was bitter, admittedly...she hadn't forgiven them for everything they've done.

A woven jail...she didn't know what that meant, but she didn't like the sound of it. She winced, thinking of saving Hera from her cage.

Leo took a breath. "Well, no matter what, we'll have to put down in the morning to finish some repairs."

"Close to a city," Annabeth suggested. "That way, we'll be near supplies. But hidden, so the Romans won't find us. Ideas?"

Piper sat up. "How do you guys feel about Kansas? Particularly Topeka?"

Rosie perked up, and immediately, Piper's face fell.

"Oh no," Piper muttered.

"What?" Percy asked, glancing at Piper.

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," Rosie quipped in her best Judy Garland voice.

Leo grinned. "_Wizard of Oz_,"

"You know it," she said, fist bumping him.

"What?" Frank asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

Rosie stared at him, aghast. "Oh my god, you've never seen _The Wizard of Oz?_"

"Uhh...no?"

"_What? _There's no place like home? Somewhere over the rainbow? Following the yellow brick road?"

"I love that movie," Hazel gushed. "It came out when I was eleven."

"Wait, _what_?!" Piper exclaimed, looking at Hazel.

Hazel winced, exchanging a look with Percy. "Long story."

Rosie dipped her fingers into her water, throwing it on Leo as Leo cried, "Melting, I'm melting!"

Frank looked between the two of them. "I ...have no idea what any of this means."

Leo shook his head. "Come on, Zhang."

"I didn't see _The Wizard of Oz_ until Rosie made us watch it three months ago," Jason reminded them.

Rosie waved him off. "Still, it's a classic."

Piper snorted. "Remember, we said Jason would be the scarecrow? Because the scarecrow wants to be a know-it-all?"

"Okay, I don't agree with that-" Jason started.

Leo perked up. "Right! And I was the tinman, because I'm always tinkering."

Frank glanced at the rest of the table. "Have they know each other for a while? I can't tell."

Piper smiled. "And we said Rosie would be a munchkin, because she's so short."

"If we're going by that," Rosie laughed. "Leo would be there with me."

"Hey!" Leo protested.

"And I was Dorothy," Piper said. "Because I would be the one most likely to get involved with an evil witch."

"Hey, Frank could be the Cowardly Lion!" Rosie said.

Frank frowned. "Cowardly?"

"Okay!" Annabeth exclaimed, ready to change the subject. "So Kansas!"

"Kansas," Percy nodded, agreeing. "Sounds like a plan."

"Meeting adjourned," Annabeth said tiredly. "Someone go get Coach and tell him we're done."

Frank stood. "I got it," he said, walking away.

The group slowly dispersed, as Piper grabbed Rosie's arm.

"What's up?" Rosie asked.

"There's a Rosie learning curve."

"I...am I supposed to know what that means?"

"The first week after I met you," Piper explained. "I didn't know what the hell you were talking about sometimes."

She narrowed her eyes at Piper. "Meaning?"

"Give Frank and Hazel time," she said. "It takes time to get in sync with Rosemary Reiger."

"Oh gross, don't full name me."

Piper giggled, as someone approached them from behind.

"Uh, Rosie?"

Rosie froze, as she turned around to see Percy, standing there nervously. Piper took a slight step back, shocked as well.

"Could we...maybe, talk? For a second?" He asked, nervously running a hand through his hair.

Rosie stood there, a smile frozen on her face, unsure of what to say.

"This is the part where you respond," Piper whispered.

"Right!" Rosie said. "Rightttt….yes. Talking- talking is a good idea." She remained frozen in place.

"Yes," Piper said, nodding and giving her a little push forward. "You two...talk." Piper quickly walked away.

Percy shook his head, laughing. "I mean, I can't believe this…Dad would joke all the time about sending me siblings, but I didn't think…." he shook his head in disbelief. "Where have you been? When did Dad claim you? This is just..._so weird_."

"Weird," Rosie gritted through her teeth. "Yeah."

"But it's _great_. I kind of always wanted a little sister, you know?"

Oh no.

"My mom would think that this is hilarious," he continued. "I mean, I haven't seen her in a while, but...yeah. She'd be happy."

Oh dear god, no. Why was he talking about his mother? Rosie didn't care to hear about his personal life.

"Powers!" Percy blurted out in a ramble. "You're new to this, right? You'll need help with your powers. Maybe we can work something out at nights, I can help you with them-"

"Percy, _stop_."

The harshness of her tone made Percy jump back in surprise.

"Oh. Um. Would you rather do mornings?"

"You don't have to do this."

"I'd be happy to, it's no-"

"I don't need you to go into big brother mode. It's _fine_." She laughed nervously. "Think about it- it's not like we grew up together, right? I mean, we don't even know each other. I could be a serial killer."

Percy's mouth twitched. "And the odds of both of Poseidon's children being serial killers?"

Rosie almost laughed- she quickly stifled it. "No. Please don't do that. Please don't do the big brother thing. Our dad...your dad...he's ignored me my entire life. I've accepted it. I'm good on family members, okay?" She wasn't sure why she lied-it just came out.

"Rosie," Percy said in a pleading tone. "I'm not trying to overstep. I just thought...since we're family…"

"I'm not even on this quest for the gods," she said. He had _no idea_. She tried to keep that in mind- he didn't know what happened in her past. "I don't let them take up my day-to-day life. Maybe that doesn't make sense…"

"No…" Percy looked crestfallen. "That makes sense. I get it. Sorry. I-I'm sorry."

"Oh, god, no! I'm sorry. Really."

Percy curtly nodded. "Right."

Rosie nodded along. "Right."

The two of them walked towards the cabins, accidentally bumping into one another.

"Ah, sorry!" Rosie yelled, jumping back. "Go ahead."

"No, no, please," he said, gesturing for her to go first.

"Please go first," she begged. "The least I can do, you know?"

Percy faintly smiled, walking past her and into his cabin.

Rosie sighed, continued down the hall.

"_Psst_!"

Rosie jumped, seeing Piper stick her head outside of her cabin. "_Geez_, Piper!"

"Sorry!" She apologized. "I just wanted to know how it went."

"By killing me?"

She smacked Rosie's arm. "Come on- what'd you guys talk about?"

She winced. "I think I scared him off."

Piper frowned. "Didn't you want that?"

"No! I mean...I don't know. I didn't mean to be so…" she sighed. "I think he was scared I was going to pull a restraining order out on him."

Piper narrowed her eyes at her. "Are you going to?"

"No! But...did I go overboard?"

Piper hesitated. "No," she finally answered. "I mean, he's no Jason Grace. That's just my opinion, though. You're just...paranoid."

"Paranoid?" Rosie raised her eyebrows. "Well, that just confirmed my suspicions."

Piper snorted. "You wanna talk more about it?"

"No, I-"

"Reiger!" Coach appeared, swinging his club. "It's past curfew!"

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, Coach, give me a sec."

"I will smack you all the way back to Long Island!"

She give Coach an incredulous look. "_Really_, Coach? All the way to Long Island? _Really?_"

"Yes!" He huffed. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Have you been practicing your aim?" She asked in a serious tone.

"That's it!" He marched Rosie into her cabin, as Rosie giggled.

She liked her cabin- it was cozy, and somewhat personalized. She had tons of

photos on her wall of her and her friends. Max's rubix cube had a place on her desk.

Meanwhile, Hedge was taking his role as "chaperone" a little seriously. If there was so much as a creak of the ship, he would hit his club against the wall, preventing any kind of productive sleep.

_Thwack_.

"Go to sleep!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry, Coach, what was that?" Leo's muffled voice came through the walls.

_Thwack._

"Valdez! Knock it off!"

"Aw, Coach, I'm just messing with-"

_Thwack._

"Will someone take that away from him?" Rosie pleaded.

"I second that." That was Jason.

_Thwack. Thwack._

"Settle down!" Coach yelled from the hall.

"Coach!" Piper moaned from next door.

"Hey, Coach, where did you say you'd smack us to?"

"_Leo_!" Piper and her screamed in unison.

* * *

**thanks to the lovely reviewers SEASBLU, radoddish, and guest! glad you're enjoying the story!**


	5. Toto, I've a Feeling We're Not in Kansas

_Thwack. Thwack. Thwack._

Was Coach still seriously banging on the walls?

Nope- Someone was knocking on her door.

"Yo, Freckles! Rise and shine!"

She groaned from under her pillow. Of course it was morning already.

Leo poked his head in. He had his hand over his eyes, but she could clearly see his brown eyes peeking through his fingers. "You covered?"

She threw her pillow at him, Leo laughing as it hit him.

"Leo!"

"My bad." He shot her his usual impish grin. "Nice pajamas by the way."

She smiled, standing up and flaunting her puppy flannel pajamas. "Yup. Puppies."

"I like 'em. Anyways, we're landing a few miles outside Topeka. And, um…" he came into her cabin, closing the door behind him. "Thanks for not hating me about yesterday. I'm sorry about the ...uh, black eye."

She patted him on the shoulder. "It's alright. I know you weren't...in control." She understood a thing or two about that.

He shrugged. "You could've been a little angry. It was warranted."

She grinned. "Not a chance, Fire Guy. I think the black eye makes me look edgy."

Leo raised his eyebrows.

Rosie pushed him. "Shut up."

From above, Coach Hedge yelled, "Thar she blows! Kansas ahoy!"

Leo groaned. "Oh geez, here we go with the pirate talk. I'd better get him out of there."

Rosie thought she would be the last one in the mess hall. However, walking in, she saw that it was only Percy, Frank, Hazel, and Jason.

Percy gave her a tight nod as Jason waved to her. Jason and Percy were both dressed in their respective camp colors.

"Morning!" Jason called cheerily.

Rosie rolled her eyes, sitting down at the table. "I really hate how happy you are in the mornings." She grabbed a cup of coffee and a waffle.

"It's the Roman way," Hazel said. "We would wake up at 5AM most days."

Rosie nearly choked on her coffee. "_Purposely_?"

"Yes," Frank replied flatly. He was wearing a blue tracksuit, like he was ready to run five miles. "When else would we train?"

"I don't know," she fired back. "Maybe when you can actually see the weapons you're holding?"

Percy offered her a small smile. "You get kinda used to it."

Jason took a bite of a chocolate donut, wiping his mouth. "_Man_, I forgot how much I loved those morning runs. Maybe we should start those runs up again." He looked at Rosie. "You interested?"

"Me. A runner." She said, lifting her eyebrows up at him.

"Good exercise," he offered.

"Me. A runner," she repeated.

He shook his head, laughing. "Of course, I forgot. You only run in life-threatening situations." He looked at the other three. "We've had a lot of those."

"Nothing you're not used to, though, right?" asked Frank, who was looking like the President of the Jason Grace Fanclub. "I mean, you're kind of a legend back at camp." Hazel nudged him.

Rosie smirked at Jason. "A _legend_, huh?"

Jason blushed, embarrassed. "I wouldn't say that-"

"The stories they would tell at camp-" Frank started, with eyes wide.

"_Stories_," Hazel emphasized, shooting a nervous look at Jason.

"The way they would talk about _the Jason Grace_!"

Rosie hid her smile behind a coffee cup.

"I mean," Frank continued. "You're just-just absolutely _ruthless_!"

"Frank," Hazel chided gently.

Rosie scrunched her face up in confusion. "_Ruthless_? The same Jason Grace who nursed a bunny back to health at camp?"

Percy looked unsure if she was kidding or not. He looked at Jason. "A bunny."

Jason nodded, embarrassed. "We found him during Capture the Flag."

Piper thankfully walked in during that moment. "Hey, guys. What are we talking about?"

"Ruthless bunny nurses," Rosie muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing! Donut?"

Piper accepted the donut with a confused look on her face, as Annabeth walked into the mess hall.

"So! We've landed; everyone should come on deck," she said, grabbing Piper's donut and taking a bite.

Jason grabbed Rosie as they walked up the stairs.

"Hey," He said.

"Hi?"

"I know you don't know Frank or Hazel. But...they're good people. I know they are..."

"Look who's talking, amnesiac boy," she teased.

"Codependent," he shot back. She laughed.

"Ooh big word,"

He took a pause. "Rosie...they won't judge you, you know. We all have our issues."

That was the annoying thing about being Jason Grace's friend- he could read you with one look.

Rosie wiggled out of his grasp. "I know, Jason. I'm fine. Promise- let's go."

The _Argo II _had settled into a sunflower field. Leo was standing at the railing, Wii controller in hand.

"Yo, Pipes!" He called out as they clambered on deck. "Where we heading?"

"The highway," Piper said. "For a sign that says Topeka 32?"

Leo spun his Wii controller, and the sails lowered themselves. "Hm, it doesn't look too far. Festus and I calculated the landing best we could. What exactly are you hoping to find at the mile marker?"

Piper took her knife out, examining it. "The knife showed me a man at the sign. He was dressed in purple and had vines all over himself. He also offered me a goblet."

"Sounds like Bacchus," Jason admitted. "God of wine."

"Dionysus," Percy muttered, groaning. "If we came all the way to Kansas to see Mr. D-"

"Bacchus is okay," Jason said, shrugging. "I did him a favor once up in the wine country."

"Yeah!" Frank said, bobbing his head excitedly. "That was when you-"

"Maybe he's better on the Roman side," Percy shrugged, not looking convinced. "Why would he be in Kansas, though? Didn't Zeus order the gods to cease contact with the mortals?"

Frank grunted unhappily. "The gods haven't _really _been good at following that order," he said.

"Does that really surprise you?" Rosie asked.

Frank glared at her. "_Anyways_, if the gods _have _gone whacko like Hazel said-"

"And _Leo _said," Leo piped in.

Frank rolled his eyes at Leo. "All I'm saying is- we don't know what's going on with the Olympians. Could be pretty bad."

"Sounds super dangerous!" Leo said cheerfully. "You guys have fun; I need to finish repairing the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna finish the broken crossbows. Annabeth, I could really use your help- you're the only other person who slightly sorta gets the engineering too."

Annabeth nodded. "You're right- I need to stay and help," she said to Percy. "That alright?"

Percy kissed her on the cheek. "Of course."

Frank peered out into the field. "I can probably turn into a crow or something, do some surveillance. Make sure no Romans are around."

"Why a crow, dude?" Leo asked. "Why don't you just turn into a dragon each time? That's the coolest, if you ask me."

Frank sighed, shaking his head. "That's like asking why you don't bench-press your maximum weight every time you life. It's hard, and you'd hurt yourself. It requires maximum effort."

"Ah." Leo nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't know, I don't lift weights."

"Yeah. You should probably think about it, Mr.-"

Hazel quickly stepped in between them, Leo making a face at Rosie.

Hazel shot a quick look at Leo. "I'll go with you, Frank," she offered. "I can summon Arion and scout around."

Rosie perked up. Hazel had a horse? "You guys want me to go with you? Not to brag, but I'm kind of a pro at scouting."

Hazel's cheeks turned pink, as she exchanged a panicked look with Frank. "That's alright! We, uh-"

"It's going to be quick!" Frank blurted. "Quick scouting."

Hazel nodded vigorously. "Very quick."

Rosie looked back and forth between Hazel and Frank. Hazel was staring at Leo. "Uh. Okayyy.."

Hazel cleared her throat. "Anyways," she said to Percy. "Uh, be on the lookout for _karpoi_."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "_Karpoi? _What are _karpoi_?"

"Grain spirits," Hazel said, shaking her head. "You don't want to know."

Piper's face slightly drained of color. "Oh. Yipee." She looked at Rosie. "You coming?"

Rosie felt deflated- so far on this quest, she had been utterly useless. She was just the second Poseidon kid they didn't need. She shook her head. "Um. No. I'm good. I can...help Coach or something," she muttered.

Piper's face become unreadable. She frowned slightly. "Oh. Alright." She turned to Percy and Jason. "Looks like it's us three, then?"

Percy looked reluctant, but nodded. "Yeah. I guess so. Not a huge fan of Mr. D, but if Jason's on good terms with him…"

Jason nodded. "Yeah. I can talk to him. Piper, it's your vision. Lead the way."

Piper tightly smiled. "Right. Let's find the highway."

* * *

"Alright, Coach," Rosie said, glancing down at what she already had. "Four letter word that starts with G, 'fall guy'."

She was currently sitting on the rail of the _Argo II_, doing Coach Hedge's crossword puzzle. Coach was hunched over one of the ship's crossbows, attempting to fix it.

Coach looked up, frowning. "You pulling my hooves, Reiger?"

She looked at him innocently. "No, why?"

He glared at her. "Goat."

Rosie smiled, writing it down on the puzzle. "There we go! We make a great team, Coach!"

"You two having fun over there?" Leo yelled from the helm.

"Totally!" She called back with false enthusiasm. "Seven letters, starts with C, one sail on a single mast. Easy Peasy- catboat!"

Annabeth appeared from below deck, carrying some building materials. "You suddenly some sailing expert, Rosie?"

"Perks of being Barnacle Breath's daughter, my friend," she said, writing down the answer on the puzzle.

Annabeth laughed, handing Leo a plank of wood. "I've heard that one before."

"From Percy?"

"Yup," she said, shooting Rosie a knowing look.

Rosie hid behind the newspaper. "Don't give me that look."

"Don't do that to my paper!" Coach grumbled, grabbing it out of her hands.

"What look?" Annabeth said, amused.

"That Annabeth-knows-best look."

Annabeth shrugged, nailing something into place. "Can't help it-usually I'm right."

"Ha ha."

Leo was kneeling on the ship's floor, wiping sweat from his face. "Scary blondie's got a point. She's usually right about most things."

Coach nodded. "Don't mind putting you cupcakes in place," he said. "But Annabeth is one cookie I wouldn't mess with."

Annabeth gave Leo a high five, smirking at Rosie.

Rosie sighed. "I'm assuming Percy told you what happened?"

Leo raised his eyebrows at her. "You talked to Percy?"

Thankfully, Hazel appeared at that moment, riding on the back of a raven. They landed onto the deck, the raven changing back into Frank.

"Hey!" Annabeth called. "How'd that go?"

Frank had a gash on his arm. "Um...it could've gone better."

"Romans?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, eagles..but..." Frank trailed off, looking embarrassed.

Hazel grabbed his hand protectively, glancing at Leo. What was up with those two? "He just cut himself on...some flowers."

Rosie pouted. "Aw, Frank, don't take that from them. They're just some puny flowers."

"You think the flowers lift?" Leo asked.

"Enough, you two," Annabeth said, shaking her head. "Hazel, maybe take Frank downstairs to get some nectar in him?"

Hazel and Frank disappeared from view, as Annabeth glared at Rosie and Leo. "I can't believe you two."

"He started it," Leo muttered to himself.

Coach was whistling. "I think this bad boy is ready to unleash fury!" He said, loading the crossbows.

Rosie jumped off the railing. "Uh, Coach, maybe we should-"

_WHISH._

Annabeth, Rosie, and Leo all quickly threw themselves down, as an arrow notched in the crossbow released. The crossbow immediately broke, pieces littering the ground.

Coach frowned. "Huh. Wasn't expecting that."

"Coach!" Leo groaned, standing up.

"My bad, Valdez!"

Leo peered at the crossbow, using his fingers to examine it.

"Can you fix it?" Annabeth asked.

Leo sighed. "Yeah, I'll get on it. I have some screws in my cabin that might do the trick."

"I'll get it," Rosie volunteered. The least she could do was run around getting stuff.

Rosie went downstairs towards the cabins, hearing the distant voices of Frank and Hazel.

"-it could be Rosie-"

"Do you want that?"

They both went silent as Rosie slowly came into view, frowning.

"Rosie!" Hazel blushed. "I- we didn't see you there."

"Heard my name," she said flatly. "Unless there's another Rosie on board that I don't know about, to which I ask to be referred to as Rosie Number One."

Hazel laughed nervously. "Right. Good one."

Rosie furrowed her brow. "Right. Okay, then…" She really didn't get Hazel and Frank. "Um...I'm just going to go get something from Leo's room…"

"Leo," Frank said, nodding. "Not Sammy."

Hazel's eyes became wide, as she nudged Frank angrily.

Rosie gave him a confused look. "Cor...rect? His name is indeed Leo." She shook her head in confusion, grabbing some screws from Leo's room.

Getting back on the deck, she saw that Leo placed Coach at the helm; Annabeth was nowhere to be found. Leo was currently vacuuming up pieces of the broken crossbow. She presented Leo with the screws.

He winced. "Ooh, sorry. Forgot I sent you to get those. Found some in my belt."

She groaned. "Seriously?"

Leo raised his eyebrows. "Sorry?"

"The freaking toolbelt is more helpful than me," she muttered under her breath.

"Rosie?"

"Why am I here? I'm freaking useless."

"You want to be helpful?" Leo grinned. "You can pick up that vacuum for me."

"Got it." She started to bend down.

"Wait, dude, I was kidding, that's pretty heavy-"

"No, it's _fine_-" She gritted through clenched teeth, sweating. Geez- this thing _was _heavy.

"You're going to give yourself a hernia."

"Hernias...give...people..._character_," she said, panting and sweating.

Leo looked concerned. "Is this a stress thing? Should I get your knitting needles?"

She flopped down, defeated. "Why am I here?"

"You're...apart of the Eight. Duh."

"Leo, I've been useless this entire quest so far. Hazel and Frank don't even want anything to do with me. There's no need for two Poseidon kids, especially when one is _Percy_…"

"This is about Percy, huh?"

"No. Yes. No." She sighed. "I don't know."

He shook his head. "You're not useless. You've got that whole badass earthquake thing."

She laid down on her back, moaning. "Okay, just wheel me out whenever you guys need me to go _Hulk_."

Leo flopped down onto the deck next to her. "If it makes you feel any better, I got called useless by a goddess. Maybe we could start a club."

She peered over at him. "What?"

"Crazy revenge lady…" he hesitated. "Said some things."

"Well, you can't leave me hanging like that."

Leo sighed. "I don't know- it doesn't matter. She just said...I didn't have a place here. That I was unimportant."

"That's not true," Rosie argued. "You built this ship."

"Repair boy," he muttered under his breath.

"Leo, come on. You remember what Hera said- you have a crucial part in this prophecy." It was the first time she had brought up the conversation with Hera.

He looked over at her. "Yeah," He said flatly. "We both have terrible decisions to make."

Rosie sighed. "I was hoping we could ignore that part."

She wanted to ask him about Hazel; why she acted so weirdly around him. Why Frank said Leo wasn't Sammy; who even was Sammy? But she didn't.

There was a moment of silence before Leo spoke up again.

"My Aunt Rosa used to say the same thing."

"What?"

"That I didn't belong."

Rosie peered over at him. This was the first she was hearing of an Aunt Rosa. "Leo…"

"I was given to her after my mom died. She blamed me completely for her death...thought I was the devil practically. She told me I didn't belong anywhere; that I was a nobody."

"You're Leo Freaking Valdez. Fire Guy," she spoke slowly. "Don't tell me that doesn't count for anything. You tamed a dragon."

"Who now has no body-"

"You built a freaking warship."

"I'm nothing but the mechanic."

"A mechanic we'd be screwed without."

Leo sighed. "Right."

_You will find your purpose, my dear._

Rosie sat up, a chill going through her body. "Did you hear that?" She glanced around the deck.

"Hear what?"

_But right now, let's have some fun, shall we?_

She heard a rustling noise.

"What was that?" She jumped up, fear coursing through her body.

Leo gave her a look. "The wind?"

"Get up."

"Freckles, you're freaking me out."

_Click. Click. Click. Click_

Something fluttered up into the air. Was that a baby? Nope, not a baby- at least she didn't think so. It had wings made of leaves, and appeared to be made out of...apples?

"Is that a _baby_?" Leo asked in confusion.

She flashed back to something Hazel said. "No. God, no, that's not a baby."

The creature bared his teeth menacingly. Slowly, more creatures began to rise into the air, all babies made out of fruits and grains and flowers.

"That's a _Karpoi_."


	6. Attack of the Evil Fruit Babies

Rosie and Leo immediately jumped into action, sprinting off into opposite directions.

Leo ran off to the deck hatch, flinging it open. "Annabeth, Hazel, help!"

"Coach, the ballista!" Rosie cried, running towards him. She tripped over her feet, falling onto the deck as the _karpoi _started to descend. How many times was she going to get injured on this quest?

"Pan's Pipes, Reiger!" Coach exclaimed, appearing over her.

She quickly stood, only to see half a dozen _karpos _climbing all over the ballista. She quickly took out her dagger, slashing away at them. Pieces of fruits and flowers littered the deck.

"Attack?" Coach asked, lifting his bat up.

"Yes, Coach, go crazy!"

"WOOHOO, ATTACK!" Coach wailed, chasing after some karpoi with his club.

Leo's arm was ignited with flames, throwing fireball after fireball at _karpoi_, the air smelling of burning grain.

Coach was having a blast, hitting _karpos_ like baseballs, shouting, "Come at me, evil babies!"

Annabeth's head appeared from below deck. "What the-" She quickly ducked out of the way as a _karpoi _tried to bite her. "Hazel, Frank, grain spirits!"

"Not again," she heard Hazel moan.

Several _karpos_ were climbing all over Rosie- tugging her hair, grabbing her legs, pinching her, laughing maniacally at her. She kept slashing, kicking _karpoi _off of her and throwing them to the ground. She was covered in pieces of fruit.

"Ouch!" she cried as a _karpoi_ bit her arm. "Son of a-" She grabbed that _karpoi_, throwing it off, smacking Frank right in the face as he ascended onto deck.

"OW!" Frank yelled, covered in apple remains.

"My bad!"

Frank shot her a quick glare before notching an arrow in his bow, aiming for some _karpos._ Arrow after arrow, he took several of them down.

Hazel unsheathed a long sword, sweeping in a huge circle, slicing multiple _karpos _to pieces. She winced as they grabbed on to her, trying to shake them off.

Annabeth was an amazing fighter- Rosie already knew that from their days at Camp Half-Blood. She fearlessly slashed at them with her knife, working quicker than any of them. If anything, she was more annoyed than angry.

"Stupid fruitcakes!" She muttered under her breath, kicking one _karpoi_ off deck.

Rosie made a noise of aggravation, as another _karpoi _pulled out a chunk of her hair. "Ugh! This is just _pear_fect," she exclaimed to Leo.

The comment caught Leo off guard, as he laughed, losing aim of his fireball. The fireball narrowly missed Frank, who fell back onto his butt, his face covered in fear.

"Ah!" he screamed.

Hazel's eyes widened. "Frank!"

Leo winced. "Sorry! _Berry_ sorry!"

Hazel gave him an angry look before running over to check on Frank, who had turned into a bear.

Rosie giggled. "Hey, that was a good one-"

The air was knocked out of her as a _karpoi_ grabbed her ankle, dragging her across the deck. She flailed, trying to get it off. Rosie finally managed to chuck it off deck, the grain spirit wailing angrily.

Annabeth's face suddenly went pale, staring at something off in the distance.

"Annabeth?" Rosie called out.

Annabeth quickly knocked a _karpoi _off her shoulder, squinting. "They're back. Is...is that Blackjack?"

"_Who?_"

"Percy's pegasus. I don't ...I think something went wrong."

Rosie peered over the railing, spotting what happened to be a horse in the distance, struggling to keep up in the air. She could see Piper, trying to hold onto to what appeared to be two familiar-looking demigods: Percy and Jason.

She heard Blackjack's distant neigh. The pegasus flapped his wings vigorously, but the strain was too much. She watched in horror as Blackjack collapsed, the four of them disappearing into the sunflower field.

"Rosie!" Annabeth yelled, her eyes wide with fear. A _karpoi _launched itself on a distracted Annabeth.

"I-I got it!" she started to climb over the railing. "I'll get them!"

"Where are you going?" Leo exclaimed, wincing as a _karpoi _was climbing on his back.

"Don't set the field on fire!" With that, she jumped over the railing, landing hard into the sunflower field.

All far as she could see was sunflowers, all towering over her. It was weirdly quiet in the field; she could hardly hear the battle sounds coming from the _Argo II._

She began sprinting further in, pushing past the thick stalks of flowers, wincing as she would be hit with them.

She tripped, falling onto her face. It was almost like...the sunflower had _pushed_ her. She whipped her head around, where the sunflower was innocently bobbing in the wind.

_Let's have some fun._

Rosie felt like screaming, _Not right now Gaea!_

She looked down, seeing that the stalk of a sunflower had began to wrap around her ankle. She reached down, slashing it with her dagger.

This seemed to anger the sunflowers around her.

_Come on, you can do better than that, Rosemary. _

Sunflowers began wrapping around her: tightly squeezing her biceps, stalks wrapping around her torso, sunflowers inches away from her face. The more she tried to fight it, the more they would wrap around her, wrapping tighter and tighter…

A scream pierced the air- that was Piper, she was sure of it.

"Piper!"

"Rosie? _Help_!"

"I'm-I'm coming," she managed to get out.

She took a deep breath- she had to get to Piper.

There was no way in _hell_ she was dying in a sunflower field.

She was going to have to move fast. Rosie quickly began cutting her way out, running as she did. She fell-a lot. The sunflowers were vicious, scratching her and tugging her in different directions.

"Rosie!" Piper sounded closer.

"I'm coming!"

She was almost there.

She kept slashing, even though it seemed to be of no use. The flowers kept appearing, wrapping her, trying to cause her to collapse.

She finally broke through, coming face-to-face with a startled pegasus, sunflower stalks wrapping around his hooves, crawling up his wings. Piper was clinging onto him for dear life, sunflowers in her hair. Jason and Percy, both unconscious, were on the ground, slowly disappearing from view as sunflowers began to slither around them.

"_Is that fruit?_" Piper asked, looking at Rosie in horror.

"Don't be alarmed, but we're being attacked by evil fruit babies."

"What?"

Blackjack's stood, his front legs dangerously hanging over Rosie's head. She could tell he was hurt; his fur was all bloody.

She held up her hands. "Whoa, boy, it's okay!"

The Pegasus tilted his head at her. _You're Percy's sister?_

She hesitated, thwacking away sunflowers as she did. "Yes...I am Percy's sister. My name is Rosie. You're Blackjack, right?"

Blackjack seemed to almost wince. _I can't...I can't make it. I'm sorry._

Jason and Percy had completely disappeared from view.

"Blackjack, listen to me," she commanded gently. "I know you're hurt...but you _need _to get them on board. You're almost there. Percy needs you."

_Percy ...needs… me._

"You can do it," Rosie nodded him on. She shot a look at Piper.

Piper jumped in as well. "Yeah," she encouraged. "You got this, Blackjack."

_Let's do it._

"Piper, come help me with the boys."

Piper jumped off Blackjack, unsheathing her dagger, cutting through the thick sunflowers encasing Jason and Percy.

"What happened to these two?" Rosie asked, cutting a stalk and seeing a familiar pair of blue eyes. Jason.

"Each other."

"_What_?"

"Explain later. Keep cutting!"

They quickly uncovered the boys, hoisting them up onto Blackjack.

Piper grabbed Rosie's hand, pulling her onto the back of Blackjack.

"Okay, Blackjack," Piper commanded powerfully. "One final push."

_You got it, Piper._

"He understands," Rosie told her.

Rosie felt terrible- she could feel Blackjack shuddering underneath them as he flew, so _so _close to the ship.

They flew onto the deck with a _thud_. The grain spirits were fewer in number, but some seemed determined to stick around. Coach was still eagerly hitting them with his club, whooping as he did.

"I feel so alive!" He shouted, after battling a karpoi lunging towards him.

"Piper?" Annabeth exclaimed, running over. "What happened?"

Frank tumbled by, in what appeared to be an engaged hand-to-hand combat with one of the grain spirits.

"Are you wrestling one of the evil fruit babies, Frank?" Rosie yelled in an aggravated tone.

"They fought each other," Piper told Annabeth. "We need to get them downstairs."

"_What?"_ Annabeth asked in an incredulous tone.

"I'm out of arrows, any better ideas?" Frank snapped, throwing the grain spirit to the ground with a _thud_, everyone getting sprayed with blueberries.

"_Frank_!" Rosie complained, wiping blueberry out of her eyes.

Hazel appeared, glancing at a heaving Blackjack in concern. "Is he-"

Leo ran over, pieces of what appeared to be barley in his hair. He was covered in strawberry remains, and his clothes were covered with soot and some flickering embers.

"What-" He started, looking at the sunflower pieces stuck on them.

"Set course for Atlanta!" Piper snapped at him, placing an unconscious Jason's arm around her. Annabeth was beginning to lift up Percy.

"Why-"

"Get us out of this freaking hellhole!"

"Okay, okay!" He said, sprinting off.

"Frank, help us out!" Annabeth yelled.

"Coming!"

"Right behind you guys!" Rosie yelled, following them.

_Thud._

"Guys, the Pegasus!" Hazel yelled in a frightened tone as she flickered a lingering _karpoi_ off her body.

Rosie stopped in her tracks, whirring around. Blackjack had completely collapsed onto the deck floor, shivering and bloody.

She thought of Karey- how she would feel if he was the one bleeding on the ground. Percy didn't need to wake up to this.

She ran forward, kneeling down next to Hazel and Blackjack.

Hazel was examining his fur. "He's hurt pretty badly, I don't understand…."

Rosie examined the long gash in his fur, wincing. "I think it was Jason's sword…"

"_Jason did this_?"

"No!" She quickly answered. "Maybe. I don't know."

Hazel frowned, directing her attention back to Blackjack. "I don't know how to help him."

_Gahh, it hurts, Rosie._

"I know," she comforted him. "You did it- you should be proud. Percy will be so proud."

_Don't tell him about this part. Tell him I never faltered once- that I was a dashing hero._

Rosie giggled. "You got it, Blackjack. Coach, can you help us out here?"

Coach smashed a final _karpoi _to pieces. "Coming!"

Rosie finally felt the ship lift off into the air, leaving the field of sunflowers behind.

Yeah, it was going to be a while before she could watch _The Wizard of Oz _again.

* * *

**hope you guys enjoyed that completely non-canon chapter! i'm in the process of heading back to school, so please be patient with me as get back in the swing of things and hopefully establish a posting schedule. thanks lovely people!**


	7. Piper Performs an Exorcism

They met in the mess hall a half an hour later, clean by very much traumatized from their fruit and flower attack.

"To think I used to_ like_ sunflowers," Rosie grumbled as she entered, clean but feeling like she could go the rest of her life without eating fruit.

Leo, clean and in a fresh change of clothes, snickered at her as she sat down next to him.

"What?"

"You still kind of…" He reached out, pulling a crushed sunflower out of her hair.

"I hate flowers."

"I hate fruit."

"Touché."

Percy and Jason were the last to enter; both looked scratched up a little, but otherwise okay.

"Okay," Annabeth called out, settling at the head. "So we all apparently have a lot to catch up on."

"Like," Jason cut in bitterly. "The fact that I get hit in the head. A lot."

He grunted in pain as Piper swiftly kicked him under the table.

Piper began telling the group a little about their encounter with Bacchus.

"Anyways," Piper said. "Bacchus was able to tell us the two twin giants we're dealing with- Otis and Ephialtes."

Rosie snorted, meeting Piper's eyes.

"What is it?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing," Piper said, shaking her head. "We had a pet rock named- it doesn't matter. Nevermind. Bacchus won't help us, but he told us to seek out Gaea's son, Phorcys."

Leo looked up from his spaghetti. "Is that why we're going to Atlanta?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah. He told us to...seek the saltwater. Whatever that means."

"Saltwater in Atlanta?" Rosie asked in an incredulous tone.

Percy shrugged, not looking at her.

Piper winced. "And then we had an encounter with Ms. Dirt Face herself."

Percy sat up with an alarmed look in his eyes, as if remembering something. "Blackjack- What happened to Blackjack?"

"He's fine," Hazel reassured him. "Rosie and I looked after him for awhile- he left once Coach performed sports medicine on him."

Percy relaxed. "Oh. Well. Thanks."

"What did Gaea say?" Rosie asked. She was a bit relieved that she wasn't the only one experiencing the voice at times.

Piper glanced down at her salad. "Um- just some things..that's when...Percy and Jason started to fight."

Annabeth and Hazel both shot Jason suspicious looks. Did neither of them trust Jason?

"It wasn't their fault," Piper stated quickly. "They were possessed."

Frank looked up from his chicken with a frightened look. That seemed to be a theme: Frank getting frightened at meal time. "Um. What?"

"Eidolons," Piper explained. Rosie had no idea what that meant.

Hazel slapped the table, making Frank jump up in his seat. "Spirits of the Underworld. Of course!"

"Wait." Rosie looked at Leo. "Is that what happened-"

"So it wasn't my fault!" Leo exclaimed happily. "I didn't start World War Three; I just got possessed by an evil spirit. That's so much better!"

Annabeth looked at Jason. "Your people don't know that. They wouldn't take our word for it."

Jason shrugged. "We could ask Reyna. She would definitely believe us."

Rosie glanced at Piper out of the corner of her eye. Piper was upset, rightfully. Jason was being an idiot for bringing up his almost-sorta girlfriend.

"You could convince her, Pipes," Jason said to her. "I know you could!"

Boys were _so _clueless. Rosie gave Jason a look that read _Seriously?_ Hazel winced at him saying this, and Annabeth glanced at Piper sympathetically.

Rosie rolled her eyes. Boys.

"Yeah...I could try," Piper muttered reluctantly. "The problem is Octagon-I mean, Octavian. God, I've been hanging out with you two too much." She glared at Rosie and Leo. "In my dagger, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I don't know if Reyna can stop him."

Frank nodded, exchanging a glance with Hazel. "She's right. This afternoon when we were scouring, we saw eagles overhead. They were pretty faraway, but gaining on us. Octavian's on his warpath."

Hazel winced. "Octavian's been waiting for this...an opportunity to seize power. If Reyna objects, he'll accuse her of being too easy on the Greeks. And those eagles...it was like they could smell us."

"They probably can," Jason said. "Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical smell even better than monsters can. The ship can conceal us- but not completely."

Rosie shuddered, thinking back to Lamia's slaughterhouse.

"Great," Leo moaned, drumming his fingers on the table. "I should have installed something to make the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to do that next time."

Hazel looked confused. "A chicken nugget? What is a chicken nugget?"

Leo jumped like he was electrocuted. "Oh, man. That's right- you've missed the last like, seventy years." She remembered Annabeth mentioning that Hazel came back from the Underworld after dying in the 1940s. "Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget-"

"Not now, Leo," Annabeth interrupted. "Point is, we'll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us-"

"We'll keep going," Jason finished. "We'll be safe once we're over the Atlantic. At least from them."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked. "Why wouldn't they follow us?"

"You guys heard Reyna- ancient lands are too dangerous for them. Roman demigods are forbidden to go. Octavian can't even get around the rule."

Frank gulped. "So if _we _go there…"

Jason frowned, hesitating. He nodded. "We'll be labeled as traitors. Any Roman demigod will have the right to kill us on sight." Ouch- That was a little harsh. "I wouldn't worry too much, though. If we get across the Atlantic, they won't chase us. They'll assume that we'll die in the Mediterranean- the Mare Nostrum."

Percy laughed. "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine."

Jason reddened. "I mean, you're not wrong."

Percy shrugged. "So, we plan ahead so that doesn't happen. Mr. D- wait, do I have to call him Mr. B now? Anyways, he mentioned those two giants, Otis and-"

"Ephialtes," Jason answered.

"Like the ones in Piper's blade," Rosie pointed out. "Anyone remember any giant stories?"

"I think I do," Annabeth mentioned. "They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling a bunch of mountains on top of each other."

Frank coughed. "Seriously? Great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. You said Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?"

Percy waved him off. "Yeah, something like that. We probably shouldn't rely on him. He wants a tribute, and it's most likely something we can't give…"

Silence fell among the group, the only sound Coach faintly humming above deck.

"She wants two of us," Piper muttered softly.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Piper blushed, obviously embarrassed, but continued on. "Today- that's what she said. She told me that she needed the blood of two demigods- one boy and one girl. She-she asked me to pick the boy that would die."

Jason grabbed her hand. "But neither of us did, Pipes. You saved us."

"I know. Just...why would she want that?"

Leo snapped his fingers, slightly defeated. "Guys- at the Wolf House. Remember our favorite ice princess, Khione? She spoke about spilling Jason's blood, said it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some sort of power."

"Oh…" Percy set down his pizza slice, his face pale.

Annabeth grabbed his arm. "Percy?"

"Bad," Percy muttered. "Bad. Very bad…" He looked at Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?"

"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter?" Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue? Yeah, I think I remember."

"I had a dream," Percy said, "when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he-he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!'"

_Two Poseidon children will go on the quest. Only one will come out._

Rosie couldn't stop shaking. She took a deep breath, trying to relax herself. Gaea's purpose for her- that had to be it. Gaea wanted her to be killed. But why?

"So...you think the giants would use our blood…" she started weakly.

Percy hesitated. "Maybe. We should just avoid being captured."

"Wonderful, Captain Obvious," Rosie muttered under her breath.

"But how does it all fit together?" Hazel asked. "The Mark of Athena, the Twins, Ella's prophecy…."

"Well," Piper started. "Bacchus said we seek out that guy in Atlanta."

"Phorcys," Percy said, nodding.

"You know him, Percy?" Annabeth asked.

"Didn't recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. He's an old sea god from before my…" He glanced at Rosie. "I mean, _our_ dad's time. Supposedly he's Gaea's son. I still don't understand why a sea god would be in Atlanta."

"Why's a wine god in Kansas?" Leo pointed out. "Gods are weird. Anyways! We should hit Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong."

"Don't even say that," Annabeth muttered as Rosie nervously knocked the table. "It's getting late- we should head to bed soon."

"Wait." Piper held a hand up, stopping them in their tracks. "One last thing. The eidolons- the possessing spirits- are still here, in the room."

For a second, no one spoke.

Rosie leaned forward. "Are they here...like, _right now_, Pipes?"

Frank scowled at her. "Is everything a joke to you?"

"I'm a nervous joker, _Frank-"_

"Piper is right," Hazel cut in.

"How are we sure?" Annabeth asked nervously.

"I've met eidolons," Hazel explained. "In the Underworld, when I was…."

Dead.

Frank let out a breath. "So..you think these things are lurking on the ship, or-"

"Possibly lurking inside some of us," Piper said.

"Like all of us?" Rosie asked nervously.

"I don't know," Piper said honestly.

"If this true-" Jason began angrily, his fist on the table.

Piper held up a hand. "We have to take action," she said. "I think I can do it."

"Do what?" Percy asked, his voice rising in pitch.

"Just listen, okay?" Piper took a deep breath. "Everybody listen."

Everyone gave Piper their full attention. Rosie felt her heart thumping.

"Eidolons," Piper said in her charmspeak tone. "Raise your hands."

A tense silence arose, nothing happening.

Besides Rosie, Leo laughed nervously. "Did you really think that was going to-"

Leo's voice died, his face going slack. He raised his hand. He looked exactly how he did when he accidentally attacked the Roman forum.

Jason and Percy had gone slack as well, their eyes glassy and golden. Hazel inhaled sharply. Frank, on the other side of Leo, scrambled out of his chair, nervously backing against the wall. The joke on Rosie's lips died instantly.

"Oh gods," Annabeth whispered. "Piper, can you cure them?"

Her best friend looked like she wanted to bolt. Rosie didn't blame her; it was taking everything in her to not scream and run out of the mess hall. Sure, exorcisms were one of her favorite topics to joke about, but actually experience? Hell no.

Piper glanced at Leo- or she guessed, _possessed_ Leo.

"Are there more of you on the ship?" Piper asked, trying to mask the shaking in her voice.

"_No_." The voice coming from Leo wasn't his; this was cold and hollow. "_The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again."_

Rosie looked at Leo, completely in shock, her mouth dropped open. "Leo.."

"No," Piper repeated coldly. "Not here, you won't. All of you, listen carefully."

Jason, Percy, and Leo all turned to Piper, staring at her. Rosie felt her stomach twist into a knot.

"You will leave those bodies," Piper commanded, her jaw clenched with anger.

"_No_," Percy snarled.

Leo emitted a low hiss. "_We must live." _

Frank fumbled awkwardly for his bow, his eyes widening. "Holy Mars! This is creepy! Spirits, leave! Get out of our friends!"

Leo turned to Frank with a scowl. "_You cannot control us, son of Mars. Your own life is fragile; your soul may burn any minute."_

Rosie didn't know what this meant, but it obviously had an effect on Frank. He staggered back, clearly in pain. He tried to look intimidating- the shaking didn't really help. "I've-I've fought worse than you. I will shoot-"

"Frank, stop." Hazel rose, placing her fists on the table.

Possessed Jason drew his sword.

"Stop!" Piper yelled.

"Pipes…" Rosie started.

"I know."

Hazel pointed at Jason's face, her face scrunched in concentration. Jason's sword flew out of his hands, clattering onto the table. Rosie was clutching the mess hall table with her hands tightly, the tips of her fingertips turning stark white.

Percy growled. "_Daughter of Pluto, you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead."_

Annabeth reached towards Percy, Hazel quickly shaking her head at her.

Piper took a deep breath, setting her face in a determined position. "Eidolons- you will _leave _those bodies."

Jason's body tightened. "_We-we will leave these bodies."_

"You will vow on the River Styx," Piper continued. "To never return to this ship or possess any of the members of the crew."

Percy and Leo both hissed.

"You will promise on the River Styx," Piper argued.

The three of them spoke in unison. "_We promise on the River Styx_."

"You are dead."

"_We are dead_,"

"Now, leave."

Percy fell face-first into his pizza with a _thud_.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled, grabbing him.

Piper and Hazel grabbed onto Jason as he slipped out of his chair. Leo wasn't so lucky. He fell sideways, towards Frank, who made no efforts to intercept him. Rosie yelped, following him to the ground.

"_Frank!_" she snapped.

"What!?"

Leo sat up from the floor moaning, some spaghetti stuck to his forehead. "Did it work?"

"I think so," Piper said, looking relieved but exhausted. "They won't be coming back."

Jason blinked. "Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?"

Rosie burst out laughing as Piper rolled her eyes. "Come on, Sparky. Time for some fresh air."

They were disbanded after that, enjoying the downtime they had before bed.

It was clear that Jason and Piper needed some alone time-she guessed that exorcisms had that effect. Also, Rosie and Leo could usually tell when they wanted to be left alone.

So, she sat in Leo's cabin, where he hardly ever actually ended up sleeping in. The two of them hung out, Rosie reenacting the exorcism for him in vivid detail.

Heading back to her cabin, she heard giggles coming from Piper's room. She poked her head in. Piper and Annabeth were sitting side by side on Piper's bed. Hazel was sitting on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.

She gasped dramatically, hand on her chest in shock. "You guys are having a girl powwow and you didn't tell me?"

"Please," Piper said, laughing and gesturing for her to come in. "Never say girl powwow again."

Rosie grinned, making a mental note to use the term "girl powwow' as much as she could. She walked into Piper's cabin, sitting on top of her desk.

"So what are we discussing, ladies?" Rosie asked.

"Boys," Annabeth said, definitely waiting for Rosie's face. "Particularly how _dumb_ they can be."

"Oh, gross." She made a face. "Is this a girls in relationships powwow? I can totally leave."

Piper rolled her eyes. "No-and this isn't a powwow. Just us complaining about our dumb boyfriends."

Rosie snorted. "Is this about Jason bringing up Reyna?"

Piper clutched her pillow. "Yep. He apologized, which was nice...but geez, I can't help but wonder where that boy's brain is sometimes."

"Percy's the same way," Annabeth reassured her. "I go in between wanting to kiss him and punch him all the time."

"Wow," Rosie said in a mock enthusiastic tone. "I too hope to find someone I want to throttle but also make out with."

Rosie dodged out of the way as Annabeth chucked a pillow at her head.

Annabeth turned to Hazel, but not before shooting Rosie a look. "What about you, Hazel? Are you and Frank the same way?"

The younger girl seemed nervous around the three of them. Rosie remembered what both Piper and Jason told her: give Hazel time. Hazel blushed. "Well, it's still sort of new for us…"

She stared a lot at Leo for being a relationship with Frank.

Annabeth sighed dramatically. "The puppy-ove phase".

Rosie clamped her hand over her mouth, a slight snort coming out.

Annabeth and Piper exchanged knowing looks.

"She so doesn't get it yet," Annabeth said.

"She will," Piper said with a grin.

"Can we not talk like I'm not in the room?"

"I could be in the middle of getting annoyed with Jason, but then I look at his eyes and I…" Piper's face softened as she sighed. "I'm gone."

Rosie smiled at her best friend. "Ah, yes," she said. "I've heard many a monologue about Sparky's eyes."

Piper shrugged. "You've seen how blue they are."

"If that's your only standard, Pipes, we should be married."

Yup- here came the other pillow, aimed at Rosie's head.

"Percy's eyes are nice," Annabeth mused out loud. "The perfect shade of green, you know? It's my favorite color."

Hazel was looking at Rosie. "How about you, Rosie? Do you...have a favorite eye color?"

She was about to make a joke. Maybe about Nicky Cox, the boy in the second grade who kissed her on the cheek. He had nice grey eyes.

"Brown," she finally answered confidently. "But ...a light brown. Like when it catches the light, it's golden."

The three of them smiled like this was the right answer.

"Yeah," Hazel said, nodding. "I like brown too. Frank's are dark brown- really dark."

The four of them talked until Coach threatened to make them do sit-ups.


	8. The Two Lovebirds go MIA

It was the first time in months she didn't have a nightmare.

It was peacefully blissful- until it wasn't.

She didn't know what time it was when there was the sound of voices outside her door.

All she knew was that it was early- _way_ too early.

She angrily got out of bed, flinging open the door and stumbling against the doorway.

"Does nobody understand what _sleep_ is?" She hysterically hissed, brushing hair out of her eyes.

When her eyes finally adjusted to the light, she saw Jason, Frank, and Hazel all standing there in their pajamas.

Frank looked wildly amused. "_Yeesh,_" Frank said, raising his eyebrows at her. "You really aren't a morning person."

She flailed her arm at him. She shot the other two a look, daring them to say anything about her bed hair. "What's going on?"

"Are those puppies?" Jason asked, looking at her pajamas.

"Annabeth and Percy are gone," Hazel explained.

Rosie narrowed her eyes at her. "Gone?"

"Piper woke up to use the bathroom and noticed that Annabeth's cabin was empty," Jason said. "She's checking the other ones right now."

"You guys think they were kidnapped?" Frank asked nervously.

Hazel glanced around. "Where's Leo?"

"In the engine room," Rosie said, only it was muffled by the fact that she was leaning her face against the doorway, eyes closed.

"What?" Hazel asked.

"She says he's in the engine room," Jason supplied.

"You understood that?" Frank asked.

"You...learn to decipher Rosie."

Piper appeared in the hallway. "She's not in any of the bathrooms. Haven't seen Percy either." She glanced at Rosie with an amused look. "I enjoy seeing you before 7AM."

"Shut up."

Coach appeared, a vein in his neck angrily bulging. Leo was right behind him, dark circles under his eyes.

"Nobody panic!" Coach barked, heading up deck. "Move a muscle, and I'll make you do burpees!"

"So, I hear there's been a _kidnapping_?" Leo said dramatically, leaning against Rosie.

"_Dun dun dunnn_," Rosie muttered tiredly, smirking at him.

Piper sighed at the two of them. "Come on, guys, they could be hurt."

"We need them," Frank said. "Percy is like-"

"What, our leader?" Jason asked, slightly annoyed.

"Yes," Hazel cut in. "He might as well be."

Coach reappeared on the stairs. "Alright, I can't find them, everybody panic!"

"Is there a reason you're always like this around Jason?" Rosie asked Hazel. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.

Hazel's cheeks turned pink. "Uh, sorry?"

"You're always acting weird around Jason." _And Leo_, she thought. _And me._

"Rosie-" Jason began.

Hazel glanced down at her feet. "I haven't known Jason for that long-"

"I knew Jason for like a _day_ before I went on a quest with him, and even then I trusted him with my life," she snapped.

"Okay!" Jason cut in nervously, clapping his hands together. "How about we all split up and look for them, okay? Everyone get a buddy- I call Rosie!"

Jason grabbed her arm, roughly dragging her down the hall, out of earshot.

"Ow, Jason-"

"You shouldn't have done that," he said, shaking his head in his Professor Grace way. What, was he going to give her detention?

"We're supposed to be a team," she argued. "Hard to do that when someone doesn't trust you."

Jason raised his eyebrows at her. "But do you trust Hazel? Or Frank?"

Damn-she knew that was a good point.

"Look…" Jason sighed. "I appreciate you defending me. It's just- I don't blame Hazel. She knows me as the '_ruthless_' Roman praetor, not...Greek Jason. I understand why she's a little nervous around me."

"She's a little nervous around me and Leo, too."

"Have you met the two of you?" Jason said with a smirk.

"Okay, that's fair. _However_-"

Piper suddenly appeared, out of breath. "Frank found them."

"They're okay?" Jason asked in surprise.

"Yeah, they're fine...they just, um…" Piper blushed. "Fell asleep in the stables."

"Did they, now?" Rosie asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yes," Piper said with a relieved giggle. "Stop doing that with your eyebrows, you're freaking Jason out."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," Jason nodded.

Annabeth and Percy were both marched into the mess hall by Frank a few minutes later, both looking slightly embarrassed.

Jason and Piper were mostly relieved, not mentioning the fact that they spent the night in the stables.

Leo grinned at them. "_Classic," _he muttered, shaking his head. "You two kiddos stay out of trouble, ya hear?"

Rosie winked at Annabeth. "Ooh la la," she whispered, Annabeth giving her a shove.

Hazel had gone completely red, avoiding looking at either of them. She kept fanning her face, which reminded Rosie that Hazel's prime was in the 1940s, so this was as "scandalous" as it probably got for her.

Coach finally got to put his "chaperone" title to use.

"Rule-BREAKERS!" He yelled, waving his bat and causing Frank to quickly duck out of the way. "Not on my SHIP!"

"Your ship?" Leo asked, eyebrows raised.

"UNACCEPTABLE!"

"Coach," Annabeth pleaded. "It was an accident- we just fell asleep."

"That's what they all say," Coach fired back.

"Who's they?" Percy asked.

"Not another word out of you, Jackson!" Coach turned to Leo. "Valdez, you got a tape measure?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"I'm gonna measure the distance between these two, that's why!"

"Uh, that won't be necessary, Coach!" Percy quickly said. "It won't happen again- we promise. Now, we have other things to discuss, don't we?"

Coach growled. "Fine! But I've got my eyes on you Jackson. And, Ms. Chase, I thought you had more sense-"

"Let's just sit down and eat," Jason said. "We need to get started."

So, they sat down, eating donuts in their pajamas and talking war strategy.

Percy told the table about his dream. The giants Otis and Ephialtes were in it, and it was discovered that their bronze jar was holding Nico DiAngelo in it, Hazel's brother. At Nico's feet were pomegranate seeds.

Hazel looked like she was on the verge of crying. "Nico…oh, god, the _seeds_."

"You know what they are, Hazel?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes. They're from our stepmother's garden; he showed them to me once."

"Persephone," Percy muttered.

Hazel nodded. "The seeds are a last-resort food," she explained. "Only children of Hades can eat them. Nico always had some on hand, in case he got stuck somewhere. If he's actually imprisoned-"

"The giants are trying to lure us away," Annabeth said. "They're assuming we'll try to rescue him."

"Well, they're right!" Hazel smacked the table, looking around. "Won't we?"

"Yes!" Coach exclaimed excitedly, his donut flying out of his hand and hitting Piper in the face.

"Coach!" She complained, grabbing a napkin.

"Of course we'll help him," Frank said. "But, um...how long can he hold out?"

"One seed a day," Hazel moaned. "That's if he puts himself in a death trance."

"_Death trance_?" Rosie asked incredulously. She then felt a little bit of guilt for saying this. "I mean...that sounds...cozy."

"Keeps him from consuming all his air," Hazel explained. "Like a coma. One seed can sustain him one day...barely."

"And he has five seeds left," Percy said. "That's five days...including today. The giants must have planned it that way, so we would have to arrive by July first. Assuming Nico is in Rome somewhere." July 1st- that run a bell for her. Jason's birthday.

"Not much time," Piper finished. She gave Hazel a sympathetic smile. "We'll find him. At least we know that line of the prophecy now- '_twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death'_. Your brother's last name is DiAngelo...Angelo is 'angel' in Italian."

Hazel shuddered. "Oh god…."

"We'll rescue him," Percy promised her. "We have to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death."

"Right," Piper said, nodding. "Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right? He probably found them."

"He'll help us find the doors," Percy said. "He can help us close them."

Hazel exhaled. "Okay. Good."

Leo shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Um- one problem. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? Isn't it a trap?"

"We have no choice!" Hazel huffed.

"All I'm saying is...your brother Nico knew about both camps, right?"

"Yes?" Hazel said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"So...he's been going back and forth...and not telling anyone," Leo said, wincing slightly, blushing slightly at his implications.

"I'm also wondering if we can trust the guy," Jason admitted, a grim expression on his face.

"Are you kidding?" Hazel asked, jumping to her feet. "He is my _brother_. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you're saying you don't want to _help him_?"

Hazel had a point- if there was a way to save Max, Rosie would've already been out the door.

Hazel shot her a look, as if daring her to argue. Rosie sank in her seat, feeling as though she caused this. She hadn't meant to be such a jerk to Hazel.

"Nobody is saying that," Frank reassured her. He glared at Leo. "Nobody had _better _be saying that."

"Look," Leo started nervously. "All I mean is-"

"Hazel," Jason interrupted. "Leo is raising a valid concern. I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Then I find out he's from Camp Half-Blood. That's a little...suspicious. Do we know where his loyalty lies? We have to be careful, you know?"

Rosie knew the problem- Jason was being too practical, too professor-y. This was Hazel's _brother_. That was the stark difference between Rosie and Jason: he was rational, whereas she considered herself too emotional.

Hazel's arm angrily shook, sending a platter of donuts crashing towards the wall. "You ...the '_ruthless_' Jason Grace...the praetor I used to look _up to _and _trust_...now I don't even recognize you." She angrily stomped out of the Mess Hall.

"Hazel!" Leo called after her. "Yikes. Maybe I should-"

"You've done enough," Frank growled, standing up.

Piper shook her head. "Both of you, give her time." She frowned at Jason and Leo. "That was _cold_, you guys."

"Cold?!" Jason exclaimed. "It's just being cautious."

"Her brother _is _dying," Rosie timidly piped up from her seat, avoiding looking at anyone.

"I want to go talk to her," Frank insisted.

"No, Frank," Piper said. "Seriously, let her cool down...trust me, okay? I can check on her in a few minutes."

Frank let out a low growl. "Fine. I'll wait."

A drill-like sound whirred above.

"That's Festus," Leo said. "He's on autopilot right now, but I guess we're close to Atlanta. I need to get up there...um, assuming we have somewhere to land?"

Everyone automatically turned to Percy, making Rosie sink further into her seat.

"Any ideas, Captain Salt Water?" Jason asked, a hint of resentment in his tone. That was uncharacteristically mean of him.

Percy blinked. "Um...well, probably somewhere central. High up, preferably. Maybe a park? It's probably not a great idea to land a warship in the middle of downtown. I doubt the Mist could even cover up something this huge."

Leo waved him off. "Rosie can."

Rosie blushed as Percy whipped his head around to look at her. "You can control the Mist?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorta," Rosie shot Leo an annoyed look.

Percy's face was unreadable. "Chiron taught you?"

"Yup."

"Huh. He always said he would teach me…..er, anyways-once we land, I'll scout around. Frank, I could use your help."

Frank tilted his head in confusion. "Really? Honestly, Percy, I don't want to spend the entire quest being everyone's flying taxi."

"No, dude," Percy said. "I want you because you've got the blood of Poseidon."

"Wait, what?" Rosie said, staring at Frank. "Are you telling me I'm related to Frank?"

"Yeah," Frank said, glaring at her. "And sure, Percy, I'll come."

Percy looked directly at her. "And, um, we could use your help too. If you want."

"Me?"

Percy slowly nodded.

"Oh. Um. Okay," she said, shooting a tight smile at him.

"Great," He said. "We could probably take one more. Annabeth-"

"Nope!" Coach barked. "Annabeth is _grounded_."

Annabeth whipped around to look at Coach. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, young lady! You're staying here! _I'll _go with Frank, Reiger, and Sneaky Mr. Jackson! The rest of you guard the ship and don't do anything stupid! That means you, Chase."

"Oh, dear god," Rosie muttered under her breath.

"Well," Percy said with a tight smile on his face. "This is going to be _so_ much fun."

Piper was holding in a laugh, glancing at Rosie, who was holding her head in her hands.

What was that phrase? Be careful what you wish for?

She wanted something to do- now she got to do it with Frank Zhang, the brother she really didn't want to be around, and their 'fearless' bloodthirsty chaperone satyr.

Percy was right- this was going to be fun.

* * *

**what are everyone's thoughts?**

**SEASBLU- haha so glad you found it funny! there are some Rosie/Frank moments coming up in the next few chapters that make me crack up!**


	9. The Dream Team

Leo landed the ship near the summit of a forested hill. To the left of them was a building that had to be a university or library. Right below them was the bustling city of Atlanta.

"Good choice, Valdez!" Coach praised.

Leo shrugged modestly. "I just picked a hill. There's a Presidental library over there ...I think. I don't know, Festus picked it, and Rosie did her Mist thing."

That she did- she was going to conceal the ship as a group of trees, but it turned out to look more...bush-like. No matter; it did the trick.

"Who cares about library?" Coach belched. "I'm talking about what happened on this hill. Frank Zhang, you should know!"

Frank flinched violently. "I should?"

"You should, Frank," Rosie said knowingly, nodding seriously.

"A Son of Ares stood here!" Coach cried.

"Um, I'm Roman...so, er, Mars, actually."

"Whatever!" Coach waved him off. "Famous spot in the American Civil War."

"I'm Canadian, actually."

Rosie scrunched up her nose, as Coach continued blabbering on. "Whatever! General Sherman-Union leader! He stood on this hill watching the city of Atlanta burn. Cut a path of destruction all the way from here to the sea. Burning! Looting! Pillaging! Now _that_ was a demigod."

Frank nodded uncomfortably. "Uh. Okay…"

Percy blinked at Coach. "Right. Maybe we don't set the city on fire this time."

"That's why I'm not going," Leo grumbled to himself. Rosie smirked at him.

"Alright...team. Where to?" Rosie asked.

They sure did make a weird crew: three teenage demigods and one satyr chaperone. The irony was too much.

"When in doubt," Percy said. "We start in the middle."

They decided to head to the Presidential Library in hopes of finding a ride downtown.

"Are libraries always this…" Percy trailed off, glancing around nervously.

"Quiet?" Rosie asked, amused.

"I was going to say crowded," he said with a sigh.

He was right-it was abnormally crowded, people milling around reading and studying.

She shrugged. "It's hot out," she reasoned. "People probably need the AC." This comment helped her relax- it was fine. It was just a library.

Percy nodded. "Straight ahead," he said, pointing. "Reference desk."

A tiny, wrinkled old lady sat behind a desk, rifling through a book.

They walked across the room. At one point, a frazzled-looking old man walked up to them, fervently shushing them.

Rosie and Frank exchanged a look.

"That was directed towards you," Rosie told him.

"No, it wasn't!" Frank whispered angrily.

"Do you hear how _loud _you're breathing-"

Coach whipped around. "Both of you, enough!"

Percy shot a look at all three of them, as he reached the desk.

"Oh, hello dear," The old woman smiled at them pleasantly. "My, look at the four of you. Are you a school group?"

Yeah, they totally were a school group. They called themselves Kids With Daddy Issues That Occasionally Go on Quest with Satyrs; ever heard of it?

"Um ...yes. Yes we are...Ester," Percy said, reading her nameplate.

"Well, aren't you darling! Peppermint?" She held out the dish to Rosie and Frank.

Frank took one, probably to be polite. As soon as Esther turned away, Rosie smacked it out of his hands, eliciting a glare from Frank. There was no way to know if they could trust this lady. For all they knew, Rosie might have to engage her in a knitting needle battle.

"Esther, we were wondering if there's a way we could possibly have a taxi called here? We-uh, got separated from our school group."

"This guy over her just _had_ to find a book on relieving bunions," Rosie said, gesturing to Frank. She gave Esther a shrug like _what are you going to do?_

Frank swiftly stepped on her foot. Rosie winced in pain.

"Oh, sugar, I'm sorry to hear that!" Esther clucked sympathetically. "You four are having a rough day, aren't you? Let me drive you!"

Percy blinked. "Oh no, ma'am-"

"I insist!"

Percy looked over at the rest of them. "Um. Could you give us a second?"

The four of them huddled together in thought, out of earshot.

"I don't buy it," Rosie said, shaking her head. "She's too nice."

Frank glared at her. "It's an _old lady_-"

"Kiss-up."

"Devil incarnate."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Enough, you two. We need to focus- we need to find saltwater."

Coach was stroking his goatee thoughtfully. "I could sniff her. Sniff her for human-ness. See if it checks out."

Rosie frowned. "Um, Coach, most women don't like to be sniffed-"

"I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna sniff her."

Coach began striding back towards the desk, as the three of them watched from faraway, grimacing.

"Is he really-" Percy started.

"Oh, yeah, he's going for it," Rosie said, unable to look away from the impending trainwreck.

"We're going to get kicked out, aren't we?" Frank asked nervously.

But they didn't. Coach gave them the all clear (_apparently_, Esther smelled like sugar cookies and cloves), and they all piled into Ester's black Cadillac.

Rosie was stuck in the backseat, right in between Coach and Frank- talk about her own personal hell.

Percy sat in the front, chatting easily with Esther, who Rosie kept a close eye on, considering she could barely see over the wheel.

"So, Esther," Percy began casually. "Here's a toughie for you-saltwater in Atlanta. Anything that comes to mind?"

"Ha, sugar, that's easy! Whale sharks!"

Rosie gulped. "Whale sharks? In Atlanta?"

"At the aquarium, dear," she quipped. "Very notorious. Downtown; is that where you wanted to go?"

Percy hesitated, but nodded. "Sure. Yeah, Esther, that's where we're going."

Esther dropped them off at the entrance of the aquarium, but not before giving them her cell phone number, money for a taxi ride back, and a jar of homemade chocolate chip cookies that she weirdly had on hand.

As she drove away, Frank shook his head in amazement. "Are all people in Atlanta that nice?"

Rosie decided _not _to point out that he came from the stereotypical nicest place in the world. "God, I hope not," she said, opening a jar of cookies. She gasped as she bit into one of them. "_Oh my god_, these are fantastic!"

"Reiger's right," the Coach said, swiping a cookie from the jar. "Can't fight them if they're all nice. Let's beat up some whale sharks! Danger here we come! Great Scott, these _are_ delicious!"

"_Right_?!" Rosie exclaimed in agreement.

Percy frowned at the long line coming out. "Well, I guess we wait in line. Anybody have money on them?"

Frank patted his pockets, reaching into them. "Four denarii from Camp Jupiter and...five dollars- Canadian. Sorry."

"Well, that's not very helpful, _eh_?" Rosie said in a terrible mock Canadian accent.

"Okay, and what about you?"

She checked her pockets. "Two dollars, one Monopoly piece, and...a screwdriver. Oh, god, Leo was looking for this-"

"How are you even a functional human being?" Percy asked, a slight tone of amusement in his voice.

She grinned. "Gotta know the right people," she winked at him.

"Coach, how about you?" Percy asked.

"Three quarters, two dimes, a rubber band and-score! Piece of celery." Coach popped the piece of celery in his mouth.

Percy sighed. "Wonderful," He said, defeated.

"Excuse me!"

The four of them turned around. Standing behind them was a woman in a blue and green Georgia aquarium t-shirt. She had thick glasses on, along with braces and frizzy black hair pulled to the sides in pigtails. She had a weird older-than-she-looks vibe going on. Her name tag read _KATE_.

"VIP visitors, hello!" She beamed at them. "You have your payment, I see."

"Excuse me?" Percy asked.

She scooped the denarii out of Frank's hand. "Yes, this is fine. Follow me!"

She trotted off toward the main entrance.

Percy glanced over at them. "A trap?"

"Probably," Frank said.

"It always is," Rosie sighed under her breath.

Hedge was sniffing the air. "Not a mortal," he admitted. "My guess? Some sort of goat-eating, demigod-destroying fiend from Tartarus."

"No doubt," Percy said in agreement.

Coach grinned. "Awesome. Let's go!"

"Right this way," Kate said, beaming as they entered the aquarium. "It's a _terrific _exhibit. And it's so rare we get VIPs!"

Frank gulped. "Don't you mean demigods?"

"You're a funny one, Frank Zhang."

Frank jerked. "You know my name?"

"Don't tell me," Kate grinned. "We've got Percy Jackson, Gleeson Hedge, and Roxanne Reiger."

"_Roxanne_?" Rosie asked indignantly.

Kate winked, placing a finger to her mouth. "So over here is the cold-water experience, with penguins and beluga whales and all that sort of stuff. Over there...those are some fish, obviously."

Rosie looked at Kate suspiciously. "Tell me, Kelly," There was _no way_ she was going to call this lady by her actual name. "What kind of fish is this?" She pointed to a random yellow fish in the tank.

"Oh, those are the yellow ones. Duh, Rebecca."

"Rosie!" She exclaimed."It's _Rosie_!"

"Let Kate talk, _Rebecca_," Frank said smugly.

Rosie glared at him as Kate led them to the gift shop.

"Take whatever you want," she told them.

Frank blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Of course! You're a VIP, Frank Zhang!"

Frank started stuffing t-shirts into his bag.

"Seriously, Frank?" Rosie cried.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Percy asked.

"I need clothes," he whispered back urgently. "I _didn't pack for a long trip_!"

Rosie scrunched her face in confusion at him. "Weren't you, like, a Boy Scout in a past life? Aren't you supposed to be _prepared_-"

"Shut it, Rebecca," he said, grabbing a snow globe. He picked up a braided, small cylinder. "What the heck is this?"

"Chinese handcuffs," Rosie said.

Frank, their resident Chinese Canadian, looked highly offended. "How are these Chinese?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know, dude. It's just a gag gift."

"You've _never _heard of them?" Rosie asked.

"Come along, now!" Kate called, already across the hall with Coach.

Frank stuffed the handcuffs in his backpack, and they kept walking, passing through an acrylic tunnel, fish overhead.

Rosie couldn't help but have the nerves arise. Water- man, she had mixed feelings when it came to that. Ironically, it was the place she was supposed to feel most powerful in. Mostly, though, she felt powerless in it.

They finally reached a viewing room, one with the biggest aquarium tank she's ever seen. There were dozens of huge fish, including two spotted sharks.

"Whale sharks," Coach's face became suspicious. "Now we're gonna battle to the death!"

Kate giggled. "That's funny, Mr. Hedge! Whale sharks are _very _peaceful. They only eat plankton."

Coach frowned. "What's the point of peaceful sharks?"

Frank squinted at the plaque next to the tank. "The only whale sharks in captivity in the world ...wow, that's actually amazing."

"Yes, and these ones are small," Kate said. "You should see some of my other babies out in the wild."

Rosie paused. "Hold up, your babies?"

"Anyways," Percy quickly changed the subject. "Kate, we're looking for a guy...a god, actually. His name is Phorcys. Would you happen to know him?"

Kate's eyes glinted dangerously. "Know him? Of course, I know him. He's my brother. That's where we're going- the _real _exhibits are right through here."


	10. The Squabble of Kate and Porky

Kate gestured to a far wall, the wall shimmering and revealing another tunnel.

Reluctantly, they all followed her inside.

"Forget the whale sharks!" Kate was saying. "There's so much more."

Kate led them into a large chamber, lined with various aquariums. There was a glowing red sign on one wall, one that Rosie couldn't read.

Percy squinted at the sign. "Monster Donut?"

"Yes!" Kate exclaimed. "One of our sponsors, of course!"

Percy gulped, these words causing the color to drain out of his face.

Something was off with the occupants of the tanks. The hippocampus didn't even try to speak with her or Percy. Two female sea spirits sat playing a game of Go Fish, looking extremely bored.

Percy glared at Kate. "They shouldn't be kept here."

Kate clucked sympathetically. "I know...they're not super interesting. We've tried to teach them tricks, but with no luck. Maybe you'll like this tank over here better."

"Pan's Pipes!" Coach cried. "What beauties!"

Coach was gawking at to sea serpents- thirty-foot-long monsters with glowing blue scales. In a different tank stood an enormous squid.

In a third tank was something Rosie didn't recognize- it was some kind of humanoid creature with sleek seal bodies, doglike faces, and human hands. They sat on the bottom of their tank, building things out of Legos.

"What-um, what are those things?" Rosie asked nervously.

"Those, Rachel, are telkhines!" Kate said. "Only ones in captivity."

Percy choked. "Telkhines? They fought for Kronos in the last war! Those things are dangerous."

Kate rolled her eyes, visibly annoyed. "Well, we obviously can't call it 'Death in the Deep Sea' if these exhibits weren't dangerous! Relax, we keep them sedated."

"Sedated?" Frank asked. "How is that legal?"

Kate didn't answer. Instead, she kept walking, pointing out their other exhibits.

"And these sea monsters," she continued. "Can grow five hundred feet long in the deep ocean. They have over a thousand teeth. And these? Their favorite food is demigod-"

Rosie stumbled backwards into Frank, who yelped. "Demigod?" He asked.

"Oh, they'll eat whales or small boats, too," Kate blushed, looking at Percy and Rosie. "Sorry, I'm a Monster Nerd! I'm sure you two already know these things, being children of Poseidon and all."

Percy shot Rosie an alarmed look.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded. "Does Kate stand for something?"

She looked taken back. "Kate? Oh no, my name is-"

"Hello!" came a new voice in the aquarium.

A small man scuttled out of the darkness, giving Rosie a heart attack. For some reason, he walked sideways on bowed legs, like a crab. His back was hunched, and his arms were raised on either side like he was a waiter holding invisible plates.

He was wearing a green wetsuit, with words reading '_PORKY'S FOLLIES_' printed down the side. He also has a headset microphone on over his greasy with hair.

"Visitors!" The man said, his voice booming throughout the room. "Welcome to Phorcys's Follies!"

He wildly swept his arms to the side, as if directing their attention to something that was supposed to be happening. Nothing happened.

The man groaned. "Telkhines, that's your cue! I wave my hands, and you leap energetically and enthusiastically!"

"Nice outfit," Coach said approvingly, eyeing the wetsuit.

"Thank you!" The man grinned. "I'm Phorcys."

"Your wetsuit says Porky," Rosie said flatly.

Phorcys cursed. "Stupid uniform company!"

Kate nodded in agreement. "I told them my name was Keto. They completely misspelled it as Kate! My brother, however, is Porky."

"Keto, like the diet?" Rosie wondered aloud to herself.

"Am not!" Phorcys grumbled. "I'm _not _porky. That name doesn't even work with Follies! But I suppose you folks don't want to hear us complain. Behold, the wondrous majesty of the giant killer squid!"

A disco ball appeared. Music swelled from the loudspeakers, spotlights shining on the squid cage, which was completely empty.

"Curses!" Phorcys frowned. "Keto, I told you to train the squid! Just some juggling and flips; is that too much to ask?!"

"He's shy!" Kate snapped. She turned to look at Rosie and Frank. "Did you know the monstrous squid is the only beast known to eat demigods whole, armor and all, without getting indigestion? It's true!"

Frank took a staggering step back, looking green and sickly. Rosie frowned, taking a step away from him.

"Keto! Stop boring our guests." Phorcys grumbled.

"But-"

"No buts! We're here to present 'Death in the Deep Seas!' Sponsored by Monster Donut! These people have spent their hard-earned denarii to get the VIP tour, and so they shall! Come with me!"

"Hold it," Percy said.

"Yes?"

"You're the sea god, aren't you? Gaea's son?"

Phorcys sighed. "How am I still known as Gaea's son, after five thousand years? How about the fact that I'm one of the oldest sea gods in existence? Older than yours and Ms. Reiger's father, by the way. I'm the god of hidden depths! Father of a thousand monsters! But _nooo_, no one knows me. I make one tiny mistake supporting the Titans in their war, and I'm exiled from the ocean- to Atlanta of all places."

Percy narrowed his eyes at Kate. "And you're Keto, a goddess?"

She smiled happily. "Yes! Goddess of sea monsters! I just love fun facts about them. For example: did you know that sea serpents can regurgitate the flesh of their victims and keep themselves fed for up to six years on the same meal? It's true!"

Frank moaned, holding his stomach.

"Frank, if you're going to puke-" Rosie began.

"Six years?" Coach interrupted. "That's amazing!"

"I know!" Kate exclaimed.

"Stop!" Phorcys barked. "You're ruining the show!"

Keto turned to Coach again. "Don't mind Porky- He's _such _a windbag. Come with me, fine satyr! I can show you full-color diagrams of the monsters' hunting habits."

Rosie shot Coach a look, shaking her head no.

"I'd love to!"

Rosie threw her head back, aggravated.

Keto lead Coach away, Frank shooting nervous looks at Percy.

"Oh, it'll be fine!" Phorcys reassured them. "Keto's a little boring, but your friend will be fine. The best part of the tour is yet to come!"

"Um," Percy started. "So Dionysius sent us here."

"Bacchus," Frank corrected.

"Whatever- the wine god. Anyways, he said you might know what your mom is up to, and these twin giant brothers of yours- Ephialtes and Otis. And if you happen to know anything about this Mark of Athena-"

Phorcys scowled. "Bacchus thought I would help you?"

"Yeah," Percy said, a look of brief panic on his face. "I mean, come on, dude, you're Phorcys. Everybody talks about you."

Phorcys perked up. "Really?"

"Of course! Right, guys?"

Rosie quickly jumped in, plastering a smile on her face. "Right! You're...the talk of the town."

"What do people say?" The god asked.

Rosie shot a look at Frank-_your turn_.

"Um, well, you have great pyrotechnics. And a good announcer's voice."

"Great disco ball," Rosie supplied.

"That's true!" Phorcys exclaimed excitedly. "I also have the largest collection of captive sea monsters in the world!"

"And you know stuff," Percy added helpfully. "Like about the _twins_ and what they're about to."

"The twins!" Phorcys jumped up excitedly. "Yes, I know about Ephialtes and Otis! Such wannabes! They don't really fit in with the other giants. Too puny- and those snakes for feet."

"Snakes for feet?"

"Yes, yes. Big deal. Gaea shaped her giant children with specific enemies in mind. Each giant was born to kill a certain god. Ephialtes and Otis ...well, together they're sort of the Anti-Dionysus."

"So what?" Percy asked. "Do they want to replace all wine with cranberry juice or something?"

"Ha, no! Ephialtes and Otis always wanted to do things better, flashier, more spectacular! And, kill Dionysius- very minor, I know. But first they wanted to humiliate him by making his revelries look tame!"

"By using things like fireworks?" Frank asked.

Phorcys grinned. "Exactly! I taught them everything they know, or at least I tried to. They're not good listeners. Their first trick? They tried to reach Olympus by piling mountains on top of one another! It was an illusion, of course. I told them to always start small!"

Rosie nodded. "Good advice, Pork- I mean, Phorcys. And now the twins are..?"

"Oh, preparing for their doomsday show in Rome," Phorcys sneered. "It's one of Mother's silly ideas. They're keeping some prisoner in some bronze jar." He glanced at Frank. "You're an Ares kid, aren't you? You smell like it. The twins imprisoned your father the same way, once."

"I'm a Mars kid, actually," Frank corrected. Rosie rolled her eyes- Frank was not one to let that go. "These giants trapped my dad in a bronze jar?"

The sea god sighed. "You know it. Another stupid stunt."

"This doomsday show was Gaea's idea?" Percy asked.

"Mother's plans always have a lot of layers...ha, like the earth itself!" He shot a look at Rosie.

"Yeah, whatever," Percy waved him off. "So this plan of hers…"

"She's put out a general bounty on some group of demigods," Phorcys said indifferently. "She was very specific- two must be spared. A boy and a girl. Of course, she has her preferences as to who she wants."

Rosie gulped.

Phorcys shrugged. "But I doubt a group of demigods will be foolish enough to come into their territory searching for the Mark of Athena. Ha!" He elbowed Frank. "Good luck with that, am I right?"

Frank laughed nervously. "Yeah. They sure would be dumb…"

Phorcys laughed heartily. "Good one, child of Mars. I suppose you're right. Even if the demigods found that map in Charleston, they'd never make it to Rome alive!"

Frank's eyes became as wide as saucers. "Yes, the MAP IN CHARLESTON," shooting looks at Rosie and Percy.

Frank Zhang was a lot of things- subtle, he was not.

"But enough of that boring stuff!" Phorcys said. "Won't you please let me finish the tour?"

Percy sighed. "Afterwards, can we ask questions?"

"Of course! I'll tell you _everything_."

Phorcys clapped twice, a new tunnel appearing, one that lead into another tunnel.

"Walk this way, children!" He scuttled sideways through the tunnel.

Frank blinked, confused. "Do we actually have to-" he turned sideways.

Rosie groaned. "Figure of speech, Zhang."

The tunnel led underneath the floor of a gymnasium-sized tank. There must have been fifty thousand gallons of water overheard. Outside the tank's display wall was an amphitheater. Rosie felt her steps becoming heavier and heavier.

If the tunnel shattered…

_Stop_, she told herself. _You are not Max. You will not drown._

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Phorcys was saying.

"It's empty," Rosie said tightly.

"What do you keep in here?" Frank questioned. "Giant killer goldfish?"

"Oh, good idea! But no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for those."

Frank flinched violently. Rosie felt a sense of dread wash over her.

"How did you know Frank is descended from Poseidon?" Percy demanded.

Phorcys shrugged. "It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, bounty wise. Isn't that right, Percy Jackson?"

Percy took a pen out from his pocket. Uncapping it, it turned into a long sword. "You promised us answers."

"You don't need really need to know anything." He grinned sinisterly. "You're not leaving. You're VIP- very important prisoners!"

With a POP, Phorcys disappeared, Frank and Percy lunging for thin air.

"Good!" Phorcys' voice came from the sound system. "I love fighting. You three will make a _fantastic _exhibit- the demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity!"

"You're crazy!" Frank yelled.

"We have to go!" Rosie screamed, running towards the exit.

She ran for the exit, only to slam into a glass wall and fall backwards. "Shit! It's blocked!"

She touched the glass, realizing with horror it was softening. It was going to shatter, and they were going to be submerged.

"This one is too!" Frank called from the other exit.

"Relax!" Came the voice from overhead. "You'll learn to love your new home!"

"I'm the son of Poseidon!" Percy roared. "You can't trap me in water, I'm strongest here!"

_No, you're not._

"Ha! I'm sure your sister would disagree. Isn't that right, Rosemary Reiger?"

Frank paused. "You're named after a spice?"

Percy looked at her. "Rosie, what is he-"

_CRACK._

The glass dome shattered, water rushing in.

* * *

**SEASBLU- haha cliffhangers are fun!**


	11. Out in the Open

**this was originally going to be two chapters, but instead I decided to combine them, so it's an extra long chapter today!**

* * *

It was weirdly easy to forget that she had water powers.

There was a brief moment of panic, forgetting how to breath. She closed her eyes, feeling the water rapidly submerging her.

_Okay, Rosie. Try to open your eyes._

She opened her eyes, aware of her breathing underwater. She could tell she was completely dry.

Time to reorient herself. Where were Percy and Frank?

She kicked her legs, moving further up in the water. She forgot how much swimming was purely muscle memory.

She spotted a moving creature. It was not only a giant goldfish fish, but their resident fumbling teenage demigod Frank Zhang. The fish was even dressed in Frank's clothes.

"_Really, Frank?"_ She sent her thoughts through the water. "_A goldfish?"_

"_I freaked out! We were talking about goldfish, it was my go-to. Sue me, Rosemary."_

"_Whatever, Nemo."_

She spotted Percy, further deeper into the tank, glancing around, looking for them.

Rosie stroked over to Percy, tapping him on the shoulder. He glanced at her, and she pointed upwards, towards Goldfish Frank.

"_Really, dude?" _Percy asked with an annoyed look as they began paddling back towards Goldfish Frank. "_What are you, Nemo?"_

"_That's what I said too!" _Rosie said happily.

"_You can't tell, but I'm glaring at the both of you."_

"_The snack that smiles back!"_

"_Shut up!" _Goldfish Frank snapped.

"_Can you try and turn into something...more useful?" _Percy pleaded.

Nothing happened.

"_Sorry._" Frank sounded slightly embarrassed. "_I'm stuck. That happens sometimes when I panic."_

"_Okay...let's just figure out how to escape."_

The three of them split up. Frank covered the top, reporting that there were no exits. Percy went down deeper, checking on the bottom. Rosie concentrated on the glass wall- part of her wondered if she could crack the glass. She thought about the time she was able to partially crack Hera's cage.

_Hello, Rosemary._

Seriously? Right now? Her muscles involuntarily spazzed, as Gaea's voice popped into her head.

_It all comes full circle, doesn't it?_

She gasped, suddenly not having any breath under water.

She began to heave, clapping her hand over her mouth and holding her breath. She was suddenly a normal teenager in the water, no powers of any sort.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't _breathe_.

"_Rosie?" _Goldfish Frank was staring at her.

Rosie tried to communicate her thoughts to him. But it _hurt_\- it felt like a fire building in her chest.

"_Can't-breathe-"_

"_Percy!"_

Percy swam up, looking over at her concern. "_What-"_

"_We have to get her out of here!"_

Rosie felt like the water was suffocating her- like if she let go of her breath, she would choke to death.

_Doesn't it hurt, Rosemary? Poor Max felt the same thing_.

Rosie clawed at her throat, flailing wildly in the water. Was this the pain Max felt? It was too awful- she could see him dying over and over and over-

"_Percy, there's Coach!"_

Through the slight slits of her eyes, she could see Coach, being led around by Keto.

Percy grabbed Rosie. "_Rosie, look at me. You cannot drown."_

But she _could_\- Percy had no idea.

She suddenly felt a sense of relief, realizing Percy had created a breathable bubble around the both of them. She took heavy breaths, feeling the pressure leave her body.

She couldn't stop seeing Max.

She was vaguely aware of Percy scooping a white marble and throwing it at the glass, trying to get Coach's attention.

Meanwhile, Frank was trying to calm her down, albeit not too well. "_Everything is going to be fine!"_ he screamed in a panicked tone.

Coach Hedge glanced over his shoulder. Seeing the three of them, his expressions changed in a matter of microseconds- incomprehension, surprise, anger, and then surprisingly- calm. Calm and Coach Hedge didn't usually go together.

Coach Hedge pointed at something, distracting Keto. As soon as she turned, Coach popped her in the back of the head with his goat hoof, throwing his human shoe off. Keto crumpled to the floor.

Coach ran up to them, holding up his hands in question. He shot Rosie a concerned look. He also did a double take at Goldfish Frank.

Keto started to stir, as Percy pointed frantically to let Coach know.

"_I need to get out of here!"_ She bunched her fists up against the wall.

Hedge looked like he was preparing for another ninja kick. Percy waved his arms, shaking his head vigorously at Coach. He was right; they couldn't keep attacking Keto.

Percy held up three fingers. "_On three_. _All of us hit it at the same time. Rosie, are you okay?"_

"_Fine- I'm fine." _She just needed to get _out_. She needed to stop seeing Max's face, his blue eyes, brown curls, the freckles decorating his face-

Coach was nodding like he understood. After all, he was an expert at hitting things.

"_Frank, we need you too. Can you change form yet?"_

Goldfish Frank paused, pondering. "_Maybe back to a human?"_

"_That's fine. Hold your breath. If this works…"_

Rosie gulped. "_If this works?"_

Keto was stirring now.

"_Well, I guess we'll find out."_ Percy began counting on his fingers.

One.

Two.

Three.

Rosie used _everything _within her to slam against the glass wall. She used her entire body, she used _her anger_. Screw Barnacle Breath. Screw Gaea. Dear God, if there was any good time for an earthquake to happen, it would be _now._

She thought of her brother- how it wasn't _fair._

The glass tank suddenly began to crack, fracture lines appearing. The tank burst, and Rosie felt herself sucked out in a stream of water. She struggled to keep afloat above the water, as she, Percy, and Frank went tumbling across the amphitheater. She felt herself gasping for air.

Coach was choking on salt water. "Pan's Pipes, what happened to you three?" Coach's eyes widened at the sight of Rosie. "What happened to you?"

"Trap-" she gasped out. "Phorcys. Run!"

Alarms were going off overheard as they fled.

Phorcys' voice boomed from overhead. "Percy Jackson!"

Smoke was filling the halls, as techno music blared from above. All the special effects Phorcys had seemed to go off on once.

The four of them stumbled out of the glass tunnel, finding themselves in the whale shark room. The mortals were running around, screaming.

They kept running, glancing over their shoulders.

"I think we're being followed!" Frank yelled, panting heavily.

"By who?" Percy yelled back.

"Whom!" Rosie exclaimed.

"_What_?!" They exclaimed in unison.

She shrugged, panting as they ran. "What? It's correct!"

"I think she's right!" Coach bleated, springing past all of them. "Has anyone see my shoe?"

"Keep running!" Percy barked.

"What happened to you back there?" Frank said to her, beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"What?!" Rosie yelled.

"At the aquarium. You freaked out!"

Was he serious? "Can we maybe talk about this _later_?!"

"I smell Keto!" Coach yelled, his nose up in the air.

"Faster, guys! Come on!" Percy said, increasing his speed.

"You try being weighed down by Esther's cookies!" Rosie shot back, struggling under her backpack.

"Lose the cookies, then!"

"Over my dead body!"

"You can't drown, can't you?!" Frank yelled, his face scrunched up in confusion. "You're Poseidon's daughter!"

"_Frank, for the love of god, shut up!"_

"Drowning?" Coach asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Of course Reiger's scared of drowning! Can you blame her, after Max?!"

"Coach!" she pleaded.

"What?!" Percy exclaimed, looking over at her. "Who's Max?"

"You're scared of drowning?" Frank asked, still frowning.

Coach looked embarrassed, like he knew he said something he shouldn't have.

"Um, I smell Keto coming closer! Look!"

Sure enough, Keto and Phorcys were far behind them, but gaining quickly.

"The ship is straight ahead!" Frank cried. "We're almost there!"

Rosie was quick to run away from Frank and Percy once they got on the _Argo II. _She didn't need to answer any questions- she didn't want to.

She sprinted down the hallway, screaming, "Leo! Leo! Take off!" The one time she needed Leo to pop up out of nowhere.

The door to Annabeth's cabin flew open, Annabeth and Hazel stumbling out.

"Where is Leo?" She yelled hysterically. That was a longrun, and she was feeling it. "Take off!"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Where is Percy?" She demanded. "And wait, how about Frank and the goat?"

Rosie bent over, clutching her stomach. "They're fine. Followed- we're being followed!"

Annabeth and Hazel pushed past her, running to the stairs. Rosie lagged behind, breathing heavily as she dragged herself up the stairs.

Percy and Hedge were lying on the deck, both utterly exhausted. Coach, however, was also grinning, saying, "That was LEGENDARY!" Frank leaned over the railing, vomiting.

Piper, Jason, and Leo appeared, running up the stairs.

Leo was holding a grilled cheese sandwich in his mouth. "What? What?" He said, his voice muffled by the sandwich. His eyes widened at Rosie, sandwich falling out of his mouth. "What happened to you? Aw man, my sandwich!"

"Followed!" She screamed, thrashing her arms around wildly. She wasn't able to communicate it with more words.

"Rosie, we need more!" Jason pleaded, grabbing her wrist. "Followed by what?"

"Maybe Porky," she muttered deliriously, staggering into Piper. "Kate might be there too. Do I look like a Rebecca?"

"What?!" Piper asked, looking at her like she had grown two heads.

"I think she's gone crazy," Annabeth muttered. "Leo, get us out of here!"

"On it!" Leo ran away, but not before hesitating by his sandwich.

"Leave the sandwich!"

"Alright, geez!"

"Charleston," Percy muttered from the ground. "Set course for Charleston."

"Charleston?" Jason's face went pale for a second. "What exactly happened?"

Percy waved him off. "Not right now," he said, getting to his knees. He shakily stood. "I need to talk to Rosie."

"_No_, Percy," she begged.

Piper glanced between the two of them. "Guys, what happened?"

"Who's Max?" Percy asked.

Rosie shot a pleading look at her friends.

"Look," Jason jumped to her defense with a nervous laugh. "Let's just focus on Charleston-"

"Jason's right!" Coach cut in. "Max who? Ha!"

Leo reappeared, frowning at his sandwich. "Why are we talking about Rosie's brother?"

Piper shot him a look of daggers, as Jason winced. Rosie felt the heat drain from her body.

The deck was silent. Frank and Hazel were looking interested in this conversation, but kept their distance. Annabeth looked shocked- Rosie felt her face burning, ashamed she never told Annabeth.

"A brother?" Percy asked. "Like another Poseidon kid? Is he at camp?"

"I…" she trailed off, not quite what to say.

"Let's go back to Charleston," Piper suggested.

"Yes!" Jason nodded. "Charleston."

"Charleston!" Leo offered, looking embarrassed.

"Dad...came back to you? At some point? You _did _meet him?" Percy had questions, so many questions.

"Rosie, what's going on?" Annabeth asked.

"I-I had a brother Max." She looked at Percy, gulping. He should know. "Dad stayed for two months when I was six."

Percy's face fell. "You...you lied."

"I know."

"Dad lived with you!"

"I know!" She took a step forward. "But, Percy, I don't like him. I hate him."

She wished Barnacle Breath would pop up for the first time in _forever _and fix this. It was the least he could do.

Frank glared at her. "If you hate the gods," he began in a soldierly tone. "Why are you even on this quest?"

"Frank!" Hazel yelled, aghast. She shot Rosie an apologetic glance, pulling him to the side.

Rosie felt her face was burning. She wished everyone would stop staring at her.

Percy shook his head in disbelief. "I don't get it...why didn't you just _tell me_? God, how is this fair? I-my mom and I _never _got that kind of attention from him. I mean, he visited when I was a _baby, _but he never _stayed._"

Rosie pressed her lips together in anger. "Trust me, it wasn't all that great," she snarled.

Jason took a cautious step forward. "Maybe we should all just-"

"I didn't know about Poseidon until I was twelve! And yet, you got to play House with him."

She knew the words he wasn't saying: he fell for her mom _twice._

"Alright, cupcakes-" Coach cut in nervously.

"There are rules in place," Percy was rambling and yelling, and Rosie stood there and took it. "There was an oath-"

"I know!" She exploded. "God, Percy, you're not the first person to tell me that. I _know _I'm a mistake, I _know _I shouldn't exist. Trust me, I have _paid _for that." She was crying now, her voice becoming wobbling.

Percy looked hurt. In his eyes, his dad had betrayed him. But Poseidon's betrayal toward Rosie was far, far worse.

He scratched his head. Maybe he was crying too; she couldn't tell. "You were a family."

"_No_, we weren't." Somewhere beneath her, something exploded.

Leo's eyes became wide. "Crap, the pipes!" He began sprinting away, Coach following him downstairs. "Guys, the plumbing, I'm begging you!"

"We weren't a family. He _left_, Percy." She took a heavy breath, a sob coming out. "He killed Max."

Percy paused. "What?"

Piper stepped forward, her face looking broken for Rosie. "Rosie," she said softly. "Let's go."

"No," she said fiercely. "He should know. He killed Max, and then I had no one. It destroyed my mom, and I had to leave home." She paused. "He wasn't my family; he took away my family."

With that, she walked away, right past a concerned Jason and Piper, a silent Annabeth.

She walked past Leo and Coach, who were trying to stop the flooding in the cabin hallway.

"Freckles, wait! Are you okay-"

She shut the door to her cabin, sitting down on her bed.

She didn't understand why she needed to constantly defend herself. All her life, it seemed like she was constantly making up for the mistakes her father made, the mistakes the gods made.

She couldn't tell how long she had been sitting there until Piper breezed in with a smile, shutting the door behind her

"Hey," she said, sitting down next to Rosie on the bed. "How are you?"

"I don't know, Pipes," she admitted honestly. "I don't think I want to talk about it."

"So we won't!" She said brightly. "Instead, let me tell you what Leo did in the mess hall before."

Piper launched into a wild tale, animatedly chatting about Leo trying to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Piper was good; she knew how to make Rosie laugh.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Piper called out.

"Just a lowly boy that sometimes goes by Sparky."

Rosie rolled her eyes, snorting. "May as well join the party, Sparky."

Jason entered her room, placing himself on the other side of Rosie.

"How you doing, kid?" He asked in a sympathetic tone.

"I beg you, please never address me that way."

"How you doing, tiger?"

Rosie moaned, covering her face with her pillow.

"Okay, so maybe not tiger," Jason sheepishly said, as Piper laughed. "I have a confession to make- I've been to Charleston, and it wasn't good."

Piper hesitated. "Did you tell the others?"

"No." He sighed. "I know I have to. I just...everytime Annabeth and Hazel look at me, all I can think of is that they don't trust me. And before, with Hazel…" he trailed off, wincing.

A pang of sympathy hit Rosie. She motioned to her backpack. "You guys have to try the cookies in there. I swear to god, they are _life-changing._"

Piper didn't hesitate; she and Jason quickly dug into Esther's cookies.

"Oh my god!" Piper's eyes widened. "These are amazing!"

"Wow," Jason chewed. "Did you happen to get this recipe?"

Leo popped his head in. "Hey, party in Rosie's room! Are those cookies?" He launched himself onto Rosie's bed. He grabbed a cookie out of Rosie's hand.

"Hey!"

Leo chewed the cookie, his eyes becoming wide. "Whoa, so Rosie definitely did _not_ make these."

She pushed him lightly with her foot.

The four of them sat together, laughing and talking . It was nice to kind of forget what was currently happening.

"Confession," Rosie admitted softly to them. "Sometimes I wish I could take the three of you and Festus and leave." Where to? She didn't care; she just missed the days where it was just the four of them.

Piper gulped, staring down at the remains of cookie in her hand.

Jason nodded. "Confession," He said. "Sometimes I wish the same thing."

Leo glanced at Rosie, the weirdest expression on his face. Was it- wistful, maybe? After a second, it was gone and she wondered if she had imagined it. "Yeah, I wish Festus had his body again," Leo quickly admitted, rolling onto his back.

"That's touching, Leo," Piper said, shaking her head.

"Hey, beauty queen, I'm just saying! I miss my glorious dragon."

"Fair enough," she said, shrugging. "I sometimes wish we could leave too."

Jason smirked over at her. "And would that happen to be related to anything that happened recently, Piper?"

"Shut up!" She stammered, blushing.

"Whoa, wait, what happened?" Rosie asked.

Piper winced. "I kind of...yelled at Percy."

"Oh god. Seriously?"

Leo laughed. "Seriously? And I missed that? Geez, Freckles, do me a favor and don't make the sinks explode next time."

"I'm sorry!" Piper exclaimed to Rosie. "I was just upset because Rosie was upset, and I kept thinking about Des Moines six months ago…"

It was becoming clear to Rosie. The crew on the _Argo II _was many things, but not a team. Nowhere near that. They all had issues with someone- Rosie and Piper with Percy, Leo with Frank and Hazel, Jason with Hazel and Annabeth. How were they supposed to defeat the giants if they couldn't even last twenty minutes without fighting?

"It's okay," Rosie said. "I did something way worse."

"You'll forgive each other," Jason reassured her. "Neither of you are upset about things you can actually control. It's Poseidon's fault; not yours or Percy's."

"Well said, Professor," Leo mumbled with cookie in his mouth.

"Oh!" She suddenly remembered something she wanted to tell them. "Frank turned into a goldfish at the aquarium."

Leo choked on his cookie, causing Piper to whack him on the back. "Man!" He panted. "I can't believe I missed Zhang as Nemo."

Piper giggled. "I don't think I'll be able to picture Frank as anything from now on."

Leo looked at Rosie. "Speaking of Zhang, you wanna pull a prank on him?"

Jason shook his head disapprovingly, a small smile on his face. "Guys-"

Rosie sat up. "Are you kidding? Let's do it."

"You know," she said as they walked into the Engine Room. "I haven't really seen Buford this trip that much."

Leo was lugging a bag of Frank's dirty laundry, which Leo swiped from his room. "Between you and me," he said. "I think he has a crush on the engine."

She laughed, as Buford the End Table scuttled up to them. They had a thing for naming inanimate objects. Rosie's dagger? Ernie. Leo's tool belt? Bert.

"Buford, my man!" Leo exclaimed, patting him.

"There's our favorite end table!"

Buford was an enchanted end table, one that Leo and Rosie had discovered in a supply closet in Bunker 9. Long story that involved two of them and Jason and Piper chasing after Buford in Camp's woods, all because Buford liked _Lemon Pledge _instead of _Windex_.

Leo attached the bag of laundry to Buford, kneeling next to him.

"And we're sure about this?" Leo asked, looking at Rosie.

Rosie knelt down next to him. "He raided the aquarium gift shop. He'll be fine."

Leo grinned. "Well, here we go. Operation End Table."


	12. Frank Needs Some New Pants

**radoddish- haha sometimes you have to throw a happy ending in there! poor frank indeed, though!**

**SEASblu- thank you so so much!**

**Guest- aw thanks so much for the incredibly kind comment! I absolutely love Rick's writing, but I also loveeeee adding my own twists and turns along the way :)**

* * *

They met in the Mess Hall- Rosie figured she couldn't avoid it anymore.

It was a slightly awkward atmosphere, the anger from Percy and Rosie's fight looming overhead. Rosie remained silent, as Percy, Frank, and Coach relegated what happened at the aquarium.

Percy bringing up the bounty on their heads seemed to damper the mood even more.

"Yeah, that's rough," Coach bleated, lettuce hanging out of his mouth. "But can we get back to my awesome ninja kick?"

Annabeth sighed, her food untouched. "A bounty on our heads...as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

Leo tilted his head thoughtfully. "Do we get Wanted posters? And are our bounties broken down on a price list?"

Hazel looked confused. "Leo, what are you talking about?"

Leo leaned back into his seat, grinning. "I'm curious how much I'm going for these days," he said. "Like, maybe I'm not as valuable as Percy and Jason..I get that! But I am worth like two or three Franks?"

"Hey!" Frank whined, looking up from his burger.

"How about you, Freckles?" Leo was obviously trying to draw her into conversation.

She pretended to think about it intensely. "I think I'm maybe one Leo and half a Piper."

Piper wiggled her eyebrows at her from across the table. "Which half, though? Upper or lower?"

"Left," Rosie said, winking.

"I'm sorry," Frank started. "Is she _knitting_?"

That Rosie was- she decided to break out the ol' knitting needles. She was going to knit Coach booties for his hooves.

"Yes," Jason replied with a smile. "Good observation, Frank."

"She's crafty," Piper bragged.

"Come on guys," Annabeth ordered. "Let's focus. We know we have to head to Charleston, to find some map."

"A map to what, though?" Hazel asked.

"The Mark of Athena," Percy spoke up silently, glancing over at Annabeth. Annabeth's face hardened. "Whatever it is...we know it leads to something important in Rome...something that might heal the rift between the Romans and the Greeks."

"_The giants' bane_," Piper supplied.

"In my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue," Percy said.

Frank was fidgeting with the Chinese handcuffs he took from the aquarium. "According to _Porky_, we'd be insane to try to find it. But what exactly is it?"

They couldn't help it; everyone glanced at Annabeth.

"I-I know I'm close to an answer," she said, wincing slightly. "I think I'll know more if we find this map. Jason...before when you reacted to the name _Charleston_...have you been there before by any chance?"

Jason shot a quick glance at Piper and Rosie, before stiffly nodding. "Yeah, um, I've been there. I did a quest there with Reyna and some friends about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. _Hunley_."

"The C.S.S. what?" Piper asked

"Whoa!" Leo's eyes lit up. "That's the first successful Civil War military submarine. I always wanted to see that."

Rosie smiled at him over her needles. "_Nerd_!" She exclaimed.

"And proud."

"The ship was designed by Roman demigods," Jason said. "It held a secret stash of Imperial gold torpedoes-until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."

Hazel looked unimpressed. "So the Romans fought on the Confederate side? As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just add...so not cool!"

Jason winced. "It was a little before my time. And it wasn't _all _Greeks on one side and _all _Romans on the other. But, you're right. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make terrible choices." He sighed, glancing at Hazel. "Like sometimes we can be too suspicious and rational. And we speak without thinking."

It hit her that Jason was apologizing. She was slightly envious at how smoothly he did it.

Jason elbowed Leo.

"Ow, dude! I mean- yes," Leo said, nodding vigorously. "Bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers who...might need saving. Apparently."

"Alright," Hazel said. "Fine. Back to Charleston. Should we check that submarine again?"

Jason hesitated. "I can think of _two_ places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the _Hunley-_ that's one of them. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War- I could lead a team inside."

"That sounds cool," Leo said. "I'll go!"

Jason nodded, turning to Rosie. "You should come too."

She frowned. She wasn't sure she wanted a pity invitation. She wanted to remind everyone of her freakout at the aquarium. "Yeah. Alright. Thanks."

Jason smiled. "Good. So me, Rosie, Leo, and Frank."

Frank jumped, still trying to pull his fingers out of the Chinese handcuffs. "Me?"

"Yeah!" Jason said enthusiastically. "It'll be...fun."

Part of her felt like Jason was trying to boost the self-esteem of both Rosie and Frank. She appreciated him trying.

"Besides," he continued. "You're a Son of Mars. Ghosts of defeated causes will definitely serve you...trust me, I know."

"How do you know that?" Percy asked.

Jason went red. "Experience," he muttered.

Frank was frowning at his fingers, which were stuck in the handcuffs. "Yeah. Okay. Um, how do you-"

Leo stifled a laugh. "Bro, you've never seen those before? It's a simple solution."

Frank continued tugging, a frustrated look on his face. Everyone, even Hazel, was trying not to laugh.

Frank grimaced with concentration. Suddenly, Frank disappeared, a green iguana in his place.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo said in his best Chiron impression. "That is exactly how one beats the Chinese handcuffs...they turn into iguanas."

Everybody burst out laughing. Frank turned back into a human, shoving the handcuffs into his pocket with a sheepish smile.

"Anyways," He said with a nervous laugh. "Um, Jason, you said there were two places?"

The laughter disappeared from Jason's face, as he frowned. "Yeah. The other place is called the Battery, a park by the harbor. We saw something in the park. A ghost or spirit, like a Southern Belle floating along. Reyna and...my friend talked to it. It would only talk to girls. It spoke to the both of them."

"What did it say?" Annabeth asked, suspiciously.

"They wouldn't tell me," Jason admitted. "But I think it was important. Reyna seemed shaken up. Reyna never acted the same around me after that. And my friend…" he trailed off again, a distant look in his eyes.

"Alright," Annabeth said slowly. "I'll take Piper and Hazel with me then."

"I'm missing the girl powwow _again_?" Rosie exclaimed.

Piper raised her eyebrows. "Be honest, do you want to go?"

Rosie sheepishly smiled. "Nah, I kind of want to see the museum." Buzz had been a Civil War freak, and some of it had rubbed off on her. Sure, she couldn't remember dates and wasn't good with names, but she thought it was interesting. She had called Leo a nerd, but she was just as big as one.

Piper smirked at her.

Annabeth nodded. "So it's settled." She turned to Leo, who was crouched over his handheld control console, listening to Festus creak. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston?"

"Fine question, Blondie," he said. "Festus just spotted a group of eagles behind us- long-range, not in sight yet."

"You sure they're Roman?" Piper asked, eyebrows raised.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Nah, beauty queen, it's totally just a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation-"

"_Okay_!"

"But I've got an idea!" Leo shot Rosie a quick grin. "How about a decoy? We send one out, trick the eagles, go the _long way _to Charleston, getting there tomorrow morning-"

Hazel opened her mouth to protest, Leo quickly raising his hand. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"It's June 27th," Hazel sighed. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

"I know, Hazel! But it might throw the Romans off our trail. We still should have enough time to reach Rome."

Hazel looked unconvinced. "When you say _should have enough_…"

"Barely enough," Leo admitted.

Hazel moaned, burying her face in her hands. "Typical for us."

"What kind of decoy, Leo?" Annabeth asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

"I'm so glad you asked, Annabeth! If everyone could follow me to the deck?"

As soon as they were on the deck, Leo started spastically pressing a button on his Wii controller. "Buford, please report for duty!"

Frank scrunched his face up in confusion. "There's someone else on the ship?"

A puff of steam shot from the stairwell, Buford suddenly appearing, happily toting along a bag of Frank's laundry.

"This is Buford," Leo explained.

"You name your furniture?" Frank asked with a snort.

"Of _course _I do. Buford, you ready for Operation End Table?"

Buford spewed steam, spouting a blade as he jumped over the railing of the _Argo II_, flying away.

"Bon Voyage, Buford!" Rosie called.

"What's in the bag?" Frank asked.

"Dirty demigod laundry," Leo said. "Sorry about that, Zhang."

Frank made a choking noise. "_What_?!"

"It'll throw the eagles off our scent!"

"Those were my only extra pants!"

"You should've swiped some from the aquarium! I asked Buford to get them cleaned while he's out. Maybe he'll remember. Well! That was productive. I'm going to calculate our detour route now. See you all tomorrow morning!"

* * *

"_Rosie."_

_She was on a ship at nighttime. Not the Argo II- a different one, slightly smaller. Navy ship. For some reason, she felt like she had been there before. Or maybe...she had seen it before._

"_Rosie."_

_She turned, seeing her mother in front of her. A slightly younger version of her mother, looking sharp in a crisp Naval uniform, her blonde hair pinned neatly back into a bun._

_She now knew what her ship she was on- the U.S.S. Rosemary. The ship she was named after- not after the spice, like so many of her friends teased her about. This was the ship her mom started her naval career on, the ship she met Buzz on. The ship she found out she was pregnant._

_Rosie felt herself smile. Maybe she was finally having a good dream._

"_Hey, Honey." Her mom stroked a piece of her brown hair out of her face. It felt so good; she hadn't realized how much she missed a mother's touch. Tears began to well in her eyes._

"_I hate seeing you like this," Her mom said in a concerned tone, looking at Rosie. "You're tired?"_

_She was exhausted-tired of it all. The giants, Percy, Gaea following her. "I'm scared, Mom."_

"_I know, Rosie," Her mom's voice was so soothing to her; she just wanted to hug her and never let go. "It's because of Dad- he did this to us. He took you away from me- took Max away."_

_Her mom was right. It was her dad's fault. _

"_Let's leave," her mom suggested._

"_Leave?"_

"_We'll take the ship somewhere. Somewhere pretty, with a shore. Buzz will meet us there. How about it, kid?"_

"_Yeah. Let's go." She smiled, taking her Mom's hand._

"_The stars are beautiful over there. Follow me."_

_She began to follow her Mom, looking up at the stars. They were beautiful. She squinted, wondering if she could maybe get closer…_

"_That's right, kid." Her mom's voice was becoming cold; more sinister. "One more step."_

"ROSIE, STOP!"

Her eyes snapped open, the night sky dangling beneath her feet.


	13. Fanny Packs and Freakouts

**SEASBLU- haha I'm not going to lie to you there's alot of cliffhangers coming your way! sorry, I think they're really fun :)**

**jchloe- aw thanks so much for that sweet comment, it made me smile! I'm so glad you're enjoying it. **

* * *

She wobbled dangerously on the railing of the _Argo II_, as a hand yanked her backwards. How had she ended up there?

She fell back into a solid mass, arms enclosing her. She glanced up, spotting Percy's sea-green eyes. Rosie began thrashing, wanting him to _let go._

"Stop!" She yelled loudly, disturbing the peaceful night atmosphere. "Get off me-Mom! _Mom!_"

"Rosie!" Percy pleaded, trying to keep her contained. "Calm down! It was just-"

"Just let me talk to her!" That was Leo-Maybe.

"Rosie! It was just a dream!" Percy yelled, tightening his grip.

Her eyes finally adjusted to the night light, and she realized that everyone- even Coach- was standing on the deck, peering at her.

"What- _What happened?" _She had been with her mom- it had felt so real. She literally still felt the touch of her mom under her fingertips.

Percy gently placed her down on the ground.

Piper had tears in her eyes. "You had a nightmare, Rosie. Leo found you sleepwalking. You tried to…" she trailed off, glancing at the rail of the ship worriedly.

"Was it an eidolon, Piper?" Annabeth asked, looking at Rosie with a scrutinizing stare.

"I-I don't know," Piper said, not looking away from Rosie.

"No," Rosie muttered. "It wasn't."

That's when the ship began rumbling.

Hazel's eyes widened. "What- What is _that_?"

Leo and Piper exchanged knowing looks.

"Hit the deck!" Leo screamed, flinging himself down, Piper quickly following suit.

Everyone repeated their actions. Everyone but one idiot.

Jason was standing there, staring back at her calmly but with a confused expression, like he didn't quite know what was going on.

"Get down," Rosie hissed, her hands up to her ears, as the rumbling got louder. What if she was destroying the entire ship?

"No, I think I'm good," he said simply, a small shrug following.

"Buddy, I would maybe listen to her," Leo muttered from the ground.

"So she has _earthquake _powers?" Frank asked, looking at her with fascination. "I didn't think Neptune's children-"

Leo sighed. "Shut up, Zhang."

"Rosie." Jason's blue eyes bore into her. She could feel them, even though she avoided his glance. "Look at me."

Shaking, she looked into his eyes. It occurred to her that Jason was there the time this happened in Chiron's office- he had seen her almost lose it. He had seen her _actually_ lose it in Des Moines.

"You are fine."

She gulped. "Gaea wants me."

Jason nodded. "Okay." He didn't appear shaken by this. He was so _calm_. "That's not going to happen. Alright? Just...keep looking at me."

That she could do- that was controllable. She looked at Jason, trying to ignore the shaking ship beneath her.

"Good," Jason said, encouraging her. "Just relax. Gaea is not here. She doesn't own you, Rosie. You're safe on this ship."

She let out a giant breath, feeling the earth center beneath her. A crack appeared in the deck beneath her, hardly deep at all. She staggered forward, Jason catching her.

"You're okay," he whispered. "It was just a nightmare."

She was aware of Piper getting up from the ground. "Is she alright?" She asked, her voice sounding teary.

"Let's just give her some space, Pipes," Jason said, standing in front of Rosie.

Piper frowned. "Jason, I-"

"He's right, Piper," Annabeth spoke up quietly from where she was standing next to Percy.

Leo snorted. "Did you two just agree on something?"

Annabeth smirked. "Shut up, Valdez. Coach, I could use your chaperoning abilities to get everyone back to bed."

Coach jumped up, eager to have a job to do. "Alright, you heard her! Everyone back to bed; show's over!"

Leo glanced at her with an unreadable expression. His mouth became flat as Jason clapped his shoulder, the two of them walking away.

The crowd slowly dispersed, as everyone headed back to their cabin. Rosie lagged behind, getting to the dark cabin hallway last.

"Rosie."

She turned, a figure emerging from the darkness: it was Hazel, frowning.

"Oh. Hazel...hey. Listen-"

Rosie was cut off as Hazel threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly. Rosie stood there, shocked.

"I'm sorry about your brother," she whispered. "About Max. I had no idea."

Rosie felt herself melt, slowly wrapping her arms around Hazel. "Thank you," she whispered.

After a slight hesitation, Rosie continued, "I'm so sorry about Nico. I really hope we can save him."

And just like that, it was like everything that happened between them was forgiven. That they were given a clean slate, a new beginning.

Rosie disappeared into her cabin, shaking her head in amazement.

Who would have thought a Daughter of Poseidon and Daughter of Hades would have something in common?

* * *

She knew the look Jason was giving her the next morning. It was the "You-don't-have-to-come" look.

"I'm coming!" she exclaimed as she, Jason, Leo, and Frank met on the deck early the next morning. "Leo and I have been preparing for this all quest."

Frank frowned. "How have you been preparing for this if we just decided to check out the _Hunley_?"

Rosie shook her head at him in mock disbelief. "Come on, Frank, look at the fanny packs- we've been prepared."

Leo nodded seriously. "She's right, Zhang."

The two of them had matching fanny packs on, along with matching visors.

"You guys look like a middle aged married tourist couple," Jason said, a slight humor in his tone.

Rosie scowled, turning to Leo. "He's a fanny nonbeliever."

Jason looked utterly confused. "Where did you even get those?"

Leo shook his head, playing with the fanny pack secured over his tool belt. "Bro, if you're going to make fun of the fanny, don't expect us to tell you our secrets."

Jason rolled his eyes, a slight smile on his face. "Fair enough. I told Coach we'll be back by sunset. Everyone ready?"

The C.S.S _Hunley _was being held at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in downtown Charleston, a slight walk from where they docked the ship. No one brought up Rosie's freakout- that she was grateful for. Leo made the time pass by telling the President of the Jason Grace Club, aka Frank Zhang, all the incredible stories that made Jason the nerd they all know and love. Rosie, grateful for the distraction, chimed in with her own details.

"And you, our dearest Frank, " Leo narrated, placing an arm around Frank. This was an extremely difficult feat to do, as the height difference between Frank and Leo was stark clear. "Think of Jason here as the greatest electricity-wielding praetor, and I'm not saying he isn't! I'm just saying that sometimes, he pulls a _Zhang_."

Frank sighed. "I really don't like that term."

"Let me be _Frank _with you-"

"Alright!" Jason quickly cut in as Rosie stifled a laugh. "The museum is straight ahead."

"And what exactly are we looking for, O Great Expert Of Civil War Weaponry?" Rosie asked with a smirk.

Jason shrugged wearily. "I'm not really sure. Hopefully we can get a close look at the artifacts."

Rosie nodded. "Okay," she said. "Let's get a closer look, then."

She knew what she was going to have to do. She knew the minute she saw the metal detector; there was no way their weapons would get through that.

"Hi there!" She said, grinning confidently as she walked up to a front desk seating a slightly older security guard, one whose name tag read _EARL_.

Earl said nothing, continuing to stare blankly at the wall.

"Um," Frank started. "Is he-"

"What?" Rosie asked him, looking at Earl with a concerned look.

Frank looked around, sighing. "_Dead_?" He whispered hushly.

"God, morbid weirdo," Leo muttered under his breath.

"I'm just saying-"

Jason rolled his eyes, probably regretting the crew he took to the museum. "Guys, he's asleep."

Rosie had to raise her eyebrows at this. "With his eyes open?"

"He's snoring."

Jason was right; once they paused, they could hear the light drone coming from Earl's mouth.

Rosie smacked down on Earl's desk loudly. "Earl!"

Earl jerked awake, nearly falling out of his chair. "What-" he broke off in confusion, staring at the four teenagers in front of him. "Can I _help you_?"

She took a deep breath, pretending like she was back in Chiron's office. "We were just wondering how to get to the new janitor orientation."

Earl frowned at her. "Janitor orientation?"

Earl wasn't going to see them as four underage demigods holding weapons. She pictured them in Earl's eyes: four janitors, all in matching uniforms. Their weapons? Cleaning supplies.

Earl's face was scrunched up in confusion, but he visibly relaxed, nodding. "New orientation," He said, nodding. "For the…"

"Janitors," she quickly supplied. "We are all janitors."

Earl was pleased by this answer, nodding. "Ah. Yes...why you don't you four just head inside?"

Rosie tried to hold her whoop back as the four of them bypassed security.

"Nicely done," Leo told her.

"Oh, that?" Rosie waved it off, hiding her grin.

They entered the museum, which appeared to be mostly empty, other than a few elderly tourists milling about.

"Hey, look," Frank said, pointing. "It's you guys." He pointed to an elderly couple wearing matching fanny packs, just like them.

"Plot twist," Rosie said. "That's us, _from the future_."

Jason clapped his hands together. "Alright," He said. "I think we should split up and walk around, maybe try to check out the artifacts."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Rosie asked.

Jason sighed. "A map...or clue, of some sort. Something that has to do with the Mark of Athena."

"Vague," Rosie muttered.

"As per usual," Leo said. "Alright, let's do this!"


	14. Sacrifice

**i absolutely love the next few chapters...this one is extremelyyyy important :)**

* * *

Sometimes, she had these moments. Moments where something reminded her so strongly of someone.

Standing in the Civil War museum, all she could think about was Buzz. She saw him everywhere. Rosie thought of all the times she saw him dressed up as a Civil War reenactor; all the times he made her watch documentaries with him.

She couldn't help but think of the both of them: her mom and Buzz. Of course, they were always on her mind when she was on the _Argo II._ But here, reading the plaques of navy accomplishments, all she could think about was lieutenant Marina Reiger and Buzz Allister.

Rosie stood there, among elderly folk and bored tour guides, staring at the _Hunley_ with an awed smile.

She could hear her mom's voice in her head: "_That is one beautiful sub."_

The tour guide couldn't be more than twenty, with a bored look in her eyes as she droned factoids about the _Hunley_.

"The C.S.S _Hunley _actually wasn't discovered until 1995. Before that, it laid in the Charleston Harbor for 136 years," the tour guide recited from memory.

Frank appeared silently at Rosie's side, as they both remained in the back listening to the tour guide.

"The name _Hunley _comes from the submarine's sponsor, Horace Lawson Hunley."

"You know," Rosie whispered to Frank. "I was named after a ship."

Frank nodded politely, a flat look on his face as he walked away, looking instead at a plaque across the room.

Rosie chewed the inside of her cheek in frustration, following Frank across the room.

"You don't like me very much," Rosie observed.

Frank looked at her with mock shock on his face. "Really? I thought we were best friends with a handshake and everything."

"Okay, Mr. Sassy, you saw me and Jason do a handshake _one time- _and by the way, it's epic!"

Frank shook his head. "I don't get you."

"Why not?" She asked bluntly.

"You're abrasive. You never stop joking...I just feel like everything's a joke to you."

She pressed her lips together, nodding. "Fair enough," she said. "But, Frank, you saw my little spectacle last night, right? That's partially why everything is a _joke_ to me."

He sighed. "You antagonize. You just don't have any bounds. It's no wonder you and Leo-" he broke off, pink rising in his cheeks.

"No wonder me and Leo _what_?" She gritted out, not exactly loving his tone.

"Nothing." Frank sighed and glanced back at the wall plaque in front of them.

"Right," she said tightly, eyes back to scanning the wall. She smirked as soon as her eyes landed on the familiar saying she knew by heart: "_Semper Fortis_...Always Courageous."

Frank raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You know Latin?"

Rosie made a face. "God, no."

"How did you know that then?"

She hesitated, then let out a soft sigh. "My Mom was in the Navy."

"You're a navy brat?"

She rolled her eyes. "You _totally _were just looking for a reason to call me a brat."

"I wasn't!"

"You were."

"Okay, I was." Frank gave her a cautious look, clearly wagering whether to tell her something or not. "My Mom was in the army." He looked slightly surprised that he decided to share this- she was too.

She didn't know that about Frank- who knew they had something in common? "Army brat."

Frank nodded, looking defeated. "Army brat," he said.

Rosie smiled as the two of them awkwardly stood. "I...used to brag about it in school. I thought my mom was a superhero."

"My Mom was," Frank said with a tiny smile on his face. His smile faded as he glanced towards the ground. "_She _should be in a museum, not all these racist old men. _She _was a hero." He looked angry, and for a second, Rosie thought he was going to turn into some sort of vicious creature and maul her. "She...she died in action. She saved her entire crew...but died. In Afghanistan."

_Oh_. Something clicked for Rosie, and she seemed to finally understand Frank beyond the annoying teen boy she dealt with. No wonder he was so into _duty _and rules and what had to be done- his mother had sacrificed herself because of duty. No wonder Frank didn't like Rosie, who was anything _but _orderly and had spent the entire quest making jokes about their obligations.

"I'm so sorry, Frank. My mom...my mom would always say that the greatest act a soldier could do was sacrifice themselves for the good of others."

Sacrifice- a word with so much meaning. Good sacrifices- Frank's mom giving her life for her crew. Bad sacrifices- Jason's mom giving him up, Max being the gods' pawn, Gaea wanting two of them to be able to rise.

Sacrifice- would she be brave enough to do that? What would she do in Frank's mom's position? She wondered if sacrifice was more about being brave enough to do it or being scared like _hell _but doing it anyways out of love.

"Yeah," Frank muttered. "That's true. My grandma said my mom acted out of devotion to our country...but also love."

"She is a hero." Rosie paused. "I don't know why you shared that with me." If she knew anything with certainty, it was that Frank didn't like her.

"I don't either." A moment of silence passed. "Annabeth said I could trust everyone on the ship- even you and Leo."

"Wow, I am touched," she joked.

Frank looked dejected. At 6'3", he towered over Rosie and yet, right now he looked terribly small. Diminished. "I don't think I could ever do what she did. The way I live my life…" he trailed off with an unhappy look.

She didn't think she could either.

"Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"_Semper Fortis_," she said with a gentle smile.

Frank's mouth twitched, as he almost broke out into laughter. Maybe they weren't friends...but she think didn't understanding one another was so bad either.

"Sometimes when I really miss my mom," she admitted. "I fold my bed the way she taught me, the military way."

Frank raised an eyebrow. "Your room is a mess."

"I said sometimes, Frank." That sounded more like the two of them- maybe they could have the best of both worlds.

The two of them continued to walk around for a little while longer, nothing particularly jumping out at them.

Leo appeared, a slightly odd look on his face. "Hi," he said to Rosie. "I think there's something wrong with Jason."

"What?" She asked. "What do you mean?"

"He's acting...strange."

Frank sighed at Leo. "You really just can't be straightforward?"

"Come see for yourselves."

Jason was frozen in place, staring at a sword mounted in a glass display case. His face read many things- scared, angry, anxious. His fists were clenched at his side, and his fixed position was making some of the elderly tourists stare nervously.

"Hey buddy," Rosie said cheerfully, coming up to his side and nudging him. "How about we step away from the sharp object?"

"This shouldn't be here," Jason said with a lost look in his eyes.

"Uh...why not?" She glanced around, looking for a display card to tell her who the sword belonged to. "Whose sword is it?"

"He's been staring at it for ten minutes," Leo whispered into her ear.

"Did I ever tell you that you remind me of someone?" Jason said to Rosie in a distant tone.

"Um, what?" She replied.

"I'm going to take the sword."

Frank frowned. "Jason, I don't think that's the best idea-"

"He's right," Leo quickly jumped in. "We need to find that map, remember?"

"I'll be quick," Jason said determinedly, flipping his coin and allowing it to change into a sword.

"_Dude_!" Rosie exclaimed, casting a worried glance at the elderly tourists.

"It's okay, we're janitors, remember?"

"_Jason," _Rosie pleaded, shooting Leo a panicked look.

Jason took a deep breath, raising his sword. Right as he was lowering it, the room suddenly got thirty degrees colder.

Frank shivered nervously. "What was-"

"_Jason Grace, you dare come back here?_"


	15. Attack of the Old Dead Guys

**SEASBLU- ****yay i'm so happy!**

* * *

The four of them simultaneously jumped.

"Guys," Leo said in a fearful tone, his voice an octave higher. "What was that?"

"_Turn around_." Another deathly whisper came, a different one this time.

"Nobody move," Jason instructed.

"So what, we become easy targets?" Rosie pointed out.

"Jason, I'm all for not moving, but I have to sneeze," Frank said, wincing.

Leo sighed. "Zhang, can we take you anywhere?"

"_You trust yourself leading your friends_?"

When Rosie thought of Jason, she didn't think of sharp electrocution, lightning strikes causing fires. She thought of light sparks and gentle shocks.

In this moment, however, she had an impulse to duck, as Jason snapped around, his eyes fierce and the air smelling of burnt electricity.

As soon as he turned, she followed suit, Frank and Leo turning as well. She had seen a lot of weird things since she found out she was a demigod, but this was definitely one of the _weirdest_.

She was making eye contact with a soldier- slack eyes, weapon drawn, a crisp blue uniform, and stark blonde hair tucked neatly underneath a blue cap.

There was an entire line of them, dead Confederate soldiers staring at the four of them angrily. All of them emitted a faint glow; it came off as ghostly.

The one standing in front of Jason was clearly the leader- he stood as if he had a metal rod for a spine. He exuded power, with his dark, callous eyes and his serious facial expression. He had brown, buzz-cut hair, and a mustache lining his lip.

"Oh my god," Rosie muttered under her breath, recognizing the man. "Is that P.G.T Beauregard?"

Leo nervously backed away from the soldier standing in front of him. "Who?"

"_Jason Grace_," Beauregard snidely smiled at him. "_I hardly expected to see you here again._"

Jason looked like a child who was caught eating out of the cookie jar. His legs started trembling, as his face was coated in fear.

"Uh, Zhang, I'm thinking this is when you jump in with your ghost talking thing," Leo said, clutching his fanny pack.

Frank, like Jason, looked incredibly nervous, clambering forward. "Um ...hi. Hi, sir. My name is Frank Zhang, Son of Mars-"

All of the soldiers broke out into laughter, clutching their stomachs and shaking their heads.

"You-you will obey me," Frank said, his voice shaking.

"_We don't take orders from children of Mars_," Beauregard said. "_Not after last time."_

"What...Jason, what is he talking about?" Frank asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

Jason's entire body was clenched with tension. "Give us that sword."

"Bro, is there a reason we need it?" Leo tried reasoning with him.

"_Tell them, Son of Jupiter,"_ Beauregard said. "_Tell them about the blood shed here."_

Rosie protectively stepped in front of Jason, who had gone pale and staggered backwards. "That's enough. We just need to know if there is a map to the Mark of Athena here."

"_A Daughter of Poseidon helping Athena? Well, I've heard it all now! Unfortunately, there is no map here."_

"Okay," Rosie said slowly. "Then we're just going to leave."

She began by taking a cautious step forward. Instantly, the soldiers all drew their swords, blocking their way.

"_That's not going to happen."_

"Ooh, they're _mad_," she whispered under her breath to her friends. She turned back to the soldiers, holding up her hands in surrender. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a uniform on display, one that was out in the open and within a reachable distance. "Everyone relax. We're not here to attack. We simply-"

"_ACHOO_!" Frank's entire body trembled as he sneezed.

It happened so fast, the soldiers letting out a war cry, advancing forward. Rosie knocked over the uniform display, causing a brief moment of distraction.

"GO!" She screamed to her friends, beginning to run out of the exhibit.

Leo and Frank quickly followed, not waiting to stick around. The soldiers began robotically moving towards them, quickly gaining speed.

Jason remained rooted in place, looking dazed and out of place. Rosie quickly grabbed his arm, dragging him away. She knew the one question she wanted to ask him so badly: what _exactly _happened in Charleston?

"Come on!" She exclaimed.

Jason blinked, looking like he just noticed he was still standing here. With a reluctant look in his eyes, he began to run with her.

The four of them dashed past Earl's desk, who shot them a confused look.

"We forgot our mop!" She screamed, throwing herself into the door to open.

They spilled out onto the streets of Charleston, creating distance between them and the dead Confederate soldiers. For a bunch of dead guys, they sure were fast.

"Which way is the ship?!" Frank exclaimed, pushing past some tourists with big cameras slung around their necks.

"We're making a left up there!" Rosie replied, as a car angrily honked at them from behind.

"No, we're not!" Leo said, grabbing the back of her fanny pack and yanking her into an alleyway.

"What-"

Frank stumbled into the alleyway behind them, grabbing Jason along with him, who was still wearing that purely dazed look on his face.

"What are you _doing?" _Rosie asked Leo, glancing nervously down the alley, which appeared to continue, twisting and turning down the little cobbled street. She could tell it was slightly inclined.

Leo's arm ignited with flames. "What does it look like I'm doing, Freckles?"

"Leo, come on, let's just _leave_," she pleaded.

"I second that!" Frank yelled in a panicked tone.

Leo turned to Frank with a snort. "Well, maybe if you had been able to _control them_-"

"Yeah, 'cause they were totally willing to talk-"

"They're just going to keep chasing us!" Leo argued.

"So we leave on the ship!" Rosie yelled. This was so un-Leo like; what was he doing? "The map isn't even here. Let's just go."

"For once, that's something coming out of Rosie's mouth that I agree with," Frank said angrily. "Let's keep moving."

"That's rich coming from the guy who couldn't even figure out Chinese handcuffs-"

"Guys!" Rosie screeched, grabbing her hair by fistfuls in aggravation.

"Fire won't do anything to them, Leo," Jason spoke up softly, from where he was leaning against the wall. "Neither will Imperial Gold."

"Jason," Rosie said, grabbing his arm. "What happened here?"

He roughly broke out of her grasp. "I don't want to talk about it. All I'm saying is…" He broke off with a frustrated sigh. "You can't get rid of those things. Not unless they somehow got buried again."

_Buried_.

"Buried, huh?" she said softly.

Leo snapped his head towards her. "Rosie, what are you-"

"Go," she instructed. "Go back to the ship. I'll be right behind you, okay?"

Leo grabbed her arm. "No," he said. "No way. You're coming with us."

"Stop!" She said, pulling her arm away. She knew what Leo was doing- he had seen her little freakout last night. She wasn't going to be that girl- the girl who was utterly useless and just occasionally woke up screaming. Leo wasn't going to make her leave.

"Rosie!" Leo protested.

"Frank, go," she said. "You too, Jason."

Frank hesitated, but grabbed Jason by the arm, dragging him further down the alleyway.

"I'm not going." Leo was stubbornly standing in place, glowering at her.

"I'm _fine_, okay? God, Leo, just _go_."

Leo looked shaken- no, _terrified_. "Freckles," he said softly, looking at her. "Please come with me. If something happens…" He shifted uncomfortably, running a hand quickly through his hair.

Rosie felt herself blush- she had no idea what he meant, but the implication...made her nervous.

"I am asking you as your best friend," she whispered back softly. "To leave."

A look of hurt passed over Leo's face, as he looked at her one final time, before hesitantly sprinting away.

Leo left at the perfect time, for as soon as she turned back around, she saw the soldiers clambering down the alley, swords drawn.

"_Done running, Daughter of Poseidon?"_ Beauregard was approaching her.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that."

"_Our Patroness will be most pleased. We've heard much about the Earthshaker."_

Rosie gulped, ignoring the urge in her body to run away screaming.

"_I will not rob you of a choice, Earthshaker. Come with me, and you'll be spared."_

That was a lie- she knew it was. And yet, she couldn't ignore the little part of her that wanted to indulge that.

But, no. If she went, she would be killed. She knew that. And yet…

"Don't get closer."

"_Choice made, then._"

She was scared- she definitely wasn't Frank's mom. Rosie closed her eyes- partially because she assumed it would hurt less if she didn't see them stab her. Aside from that, she was picturing somewhere else- Chiron's office.

_Use the anger. Control it._

She was a force to be reckoned with.

The silent alley was disturbed by the sound of glass showering down from the apartments above. She opened her eyes to see a cloud of dust, as the ground beneath her began to shake.

She heard the screams of soldiers.

Rosie heard the distinct noise of the street cracking slowly but surely coming towards her.

_This is the part where you run, Rosie._

She began backing away, scared as hell but pushing it away. She couldn't dwell on it- she had to keep it contained.

The buildings were swaying, debris raining down from above.

_Don't think Don't think Don't think-_

"Rosie!"

She spotted the end of an alley, a clearing where Frank, Leo, and Jason were standing.

"Hurry!" Leo screamed.

"That hadn't occurred to me!" She screaming over the rumbling of the street.

The crack was enveloping the street, the buildings disappearing and crumbling. Rosie was sprinting towards her friends, as Leo extended his hand out. She felt herself falling, unable to reach his hand-

She found her hand wrapped around the hilt of Jason's sword, as Jason extended it towards her. She was yanked out of the crevice, landing shakily on her feet next to the three of them. Jason staggered, as a shard of glass embedded itself into his arm. He yelped out in pain.

"Jason!"

"Did _you do that_?!" Frank exclaimed, glancing back at the destroyed alleyway.

Rosie pushed herself to keep running, even though her body ached and her head was now throbbing. "Frank, you gotta stop with the rhetorical questions!"

Leo was running alongside, glancing at her with concern.

"What?" She said to him. I'm fine!"

The air in front of them began to shimmer. The four of them simultaneously stopped, clumsily bumping into one another.

A distorted image of Piper popped up.

"P-Piper?" Jason choked out.

"Guys?" She sounded so far away, and the image kept distorting, like a scratched DVD. "Where are you? Leo, Rosie, are those fanny packs?"

"Nearly got attacked by a group of racist dead guys, but yes Pipes, _let's focus on the fanny packs_!" Leo screeched.

"Okay!" Piper shot back angrily. "You guys need to get to Fort Sumter _now_!"

"Fort Sumter?" Frank asked. "Why?!"

"The map is there! You need to hurry, the Romans know we're here!"

"What?!" Jason exclaimed, jumping a little.

"Jason, is your arm _bleeding?_ What the heck happened?"

"Racist dead guys!" Rosie and Leo exclaimed in unison.

"Okay, okay!" The image of Piper kept breaking up and freezing, making it hard to decipher her words.

"How the hell do you know the map is at Fort Sumter?" Rosie asked, nervously glancing over her shoulder for Romans.

Piper's face became flat. "We ran into my mother."

Rosie yelped. "Oh dear god!"

Frank frowned. "What's wrong with Venus?"

Rosie ignored him. "Piper, please tell me she's not going to steal our clothes again."

Piper's image froze. "Got to-eagles-hurry-" The image disappeared.

"Piper!" Rosie turned to the other three, aggravated. "I just did laundry, if Piper's mom steals my clothes-"

"Did you not hear her?" Frank grumbled. "We have to leave!"

"Where's Fort Sutmer from here?" Leo asked.

"By the coast," Jason muttered quietly.

"So how the heck are we going to get there?"

"We fly."

Rosie looked at Leo. "Ugh, I knew we forgot something on the ship."

Leo shook his head at Jason. "Dude, you're no in shape to carry us-"

"Frank will."

Rosie and Leo both paused for a second.

"Don't get too excited guys," Frank muttered sarcastically.

Leo looked uneasily at Frank. "Can you at least turn into a dragon?"

"Nope," Frank answered. "I'm thinking an eagle. You two can hold onto my talons."

"Is this day going to get any worse?" Rosie wondered aloud.

_WHISH._

Rosie peered down to see an arrow stuck into the ground, shot from above. Following this was screeches- the screeches of eagles.

"Apparently," Leo said. "Yes."

Frank was suddenly gone, morphed into a huge bald eagle. Jason uneasily started levitating up into the air.

"You guys coming?" He asked.

_WHISH._

Leo yelped, jumping out of the way as another arrow implanted itself by his feet.

"Looks like I'm going to die either way," he muttered. "Let's go ride on Frank the Friendly Eagle."


	16. No Faith in Frank the Friendly Eagle

**SEASBLU- haha love that scenario! i wish had even the slightest musical talent lol **

* * *

If Rosie had to choose between riding on the Festus who used to hate her, or on Frank the Friendly Eagle, she would've chosen Festus a thousand times.

At least with Festus, she would've been sitting on something solid. With Frank the Friendly Eagle, the city of Charleston dangling beneath her feet, making her feel like she was going to plunge to her death any second.

She and Leo exchanged a stream of colorful curses, as arrows flew beneath their feet, a formation of eagles following them.

"I think they know what I did!" Leo screaming, thrashing wildly away from an arrow.

"Ya think!?" Rosie closed her eyes. "I'm going to be sick!"

"_Don't puke on me_!" Frank the Friendly Eagle said.

"Focus on the sky, Zhang!"

Jason glanced back at the eagles gaining on them, the color draining out of his face.

"_You think we can just explain to them what happened_?" Frank the Friendly Eagle asked.

Leo hiked up his legs, an arrow dangerously whizzing past. "Yeah, while we're at it, we can hold hands and sing _Kumbaya_!"

"_One second from dropping you_!"

"Don't you dare, Zhang!"

"The ship is docked straight ahead!" Jason yelled.

He was right; she could see the _Argo II _docked near Fort Sumter, which was surrounded by water.

"_Shit_!" Rosie cursed. "I'm going to fall, I'm going to fall-"

"You're not!" Leo said nervously. "Stop saying that!" An arrow missed his head by inches. "_Holy crap!_"

_BOOM._

Rosie felt heat radiating towards her, as a flaming spear from the ship headed their way.

"What the _hell_-"

Frank the Friendly Eagle thrashed, the sudden movement causing Rosie's grasp to loosen. Both she and Leo fell from Frank, starting to plunge towards the ground at an extremely fast speed.

She could see the obituary now: Rosemary Reiger, age 16, lived a good life until Frank the Friendly Eagle dropped her from fifty feet above, killing her on impact. In lieu of flowers, please send threatening notes to Frank the Friendly Eagle.

"_Frank!_"

Suddenly, she felt a hand grasp the back of her fanny pack, as she grabbed onto Leo's hand.

Leo was barely holding onto her hand, as Jason held her from behind, the three of them thrashing around in the air.

"Your hands are sweaty!" Rosie complained to Leo, groaning.

Jason grunted with the effort. "Can't-hold-"

The fanny pack snapped, sending Rosie and Leo towards the water surrounding the fort, Jason stumbling in the air and disappearing from view behind the Fort.

Rosie tumbled into Leo as they freefalled.

"We're going to die!" Leo screamed frantically in her ear.

"I have a bone to pick with Coach!" She yelled, throwing her arms around him.

Rosie concentrated on the water, willing it to shape itself. Anything so they wouldn't be flattened like pancakes.

She hit the surface with a huge _SPLASH_, feeling the water bend out of shape, going back to a small current. Leo slipped out of her grasp.

She felt her knees brush the soft sand, as she popped up above surface. She was in shallow waters- she could stand.

"Leo! Leo!" She kept sprinting in the shallow waters, wondering where he was.

"Rosie!"

She turned to see Jason outside the fort, sword in hand, looking somewhat bruised up from his fall.

"Where's Leo?!"

"I don't know!" He replied, running away as Roman soldiers began to chase him.

More of them came out of nowhere. Some armor-cladded soldiers started approaching Rosie, glaring at her.

She held her hands up, giving them a warning.

The soldiers seemed to snicker at her. She didn't blame them; at 5'6" and with her physical appearance, she didn't come off as intimidating.

However, they were about to find out what she could do.

Water gushed up in springs, exploding underneath the soldiers and sending them flying.

She continued running towards the fort, as someone popped up in front of her.

"_Ah_!" She screamed, ready to punch someone in the face.

But it was just Leo, looking drenched and angry. "I hate Frank!" He screamed.

"Join the club!"

The two of them sprinted off to join the battle.

Leo started chucking fire balls into the crowd, aiming for angry Roman soldiers. Eagles fell from the sky, as Frank morphed back into human form, shooting arrow after arrow. Jason had recovered from his fall okay, unsheathing his sword and engaging in fierce battle with his former peers.

She ducked behind the fort wall, listening to the sounds of war cries and weapons clashing against one another.

A Roman soldier ran towards her. Rosie quickly flicked her hand, a wave crashing into him and pushing him backwards.

"Yeah!" She triumphantly called out to no one in particular. "That's how a Neptunian does it!"

Her moment of glory was short-lived, for a soldier snuck up on her. She barely had time to react before she felt a burst of pain in her shoulder, the quick thrust of a dagger being pulled out. She crumpled to the ground with a yelp of pain.

"Rosie!"

The soldier who stabbed her suddenly screamed, engulfed in flames. The soldier quickly jumped into the water, disappearing from view.

She placed a hand to her wound, keeping pressure on it, trying to ignore the sight of blood.

Leo appeared, kneeling next to her with concern.

"Are you okay?!" He exclaimed, touching her with concern.

"I've been better!" She managed to grit out.

"We got to get you back on the ship."

"Leo?" She said, pulling her hand away from the wound and glancing at it.

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to vomit."

A group of soldiers appeared, Leo quickly popping up. He wasted no time, an enormous flaming ball of fire shooting their way. The soldiers scattered.

"Zhang!" Leo screeched.

It hurt so much- her fingers were coated in red.

Frank appeared out of the corner of her eye. "What happened to her?"

"Ask your little friends with the knives!" Leo snapped. "Get us back to the ship now!"

Frank obliged, turning into a dragon- finally granting Leo's request. Leo picked up Rosie, cradling her as the two of them sat on top of Dragon Frank. She closed her eyes as they flew, feeling sick.

"Guys?" She heard Piper's voice.

Rosie opened her eyes as Leo laid her on the deck.

"Leo, what happened to her?!" Piper exclaimed, a worried Hazel at her shoulder.

"Get Coach now!" He snapped.

Hazel quickly ran off. Where had Frank gone?

She smiled groggily at Piper, who had knelt down next to her in concern. "Oh my god," she giggled. "I got _stabbed_."

Piper sputtered an awkward laugh out, exchanging a slightly aghast look with Leo.

"_Dude_," Piper said, shaking her head. "You've having the shittiest luck ever today."

"I know, right?" Rosie laughed again, feeling all sorts of loopy. She thought of that time at Wilderness when she and Piper were both sick and had accidentally taken _way _too much cold medicine.

"Reiger, you just _had _to get stabbed, didn't you?!" Coach angrily appeared on deck, Hazel on his heels.

"Coach, your hooves are looking especially good today," she smiled at him as Coach knelt down next to her.

"Oh, she's definitely out of it," Coach muttered worriedly.

Hazel frowned. "Wait, where did Frank go?"

Leo waved her off, keeping his eyes on Rosie. "Dunno know- said he wanted to go back to the battle."

"_What_?!"

"I don't know, Hazel, geez, woman!" Leo shrugged violently.

Meanwhile, Coach was examining Rosie's wound, making Rosie yelp in pain.

"You're gonna do your voodoo magic, Coach?" Rosie asked gleefully.

"She'll be alright, Hedge?" Piper asked, her face creased with worry.

"Unfortunately," Coach grumbled. "It's going to take a lot more than a stabbing for Reiger to go away."

"_Reiger_," she muttered to herself, unaware of how weird her last name sounded. "Ree...ger."

Piper frowned. "Is there a reason she's acting so…"

"Blood loss. It's fine...I think." Coach handed her a bottle of Gatorade. "Drink this, kid. Special mix of mine."

"Aw, Coach, I don't like this flavor."

Leo shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Shut up and drink the Gatorade, Freckles."

"Fine-only because I tend to get dehydrated."

She heard a slight thud onto the deck as Jason landed softly, strolling over to the group of them. Frank landed in behind him, morphing from an eagle back to a human.

"Frank!" Hazel exclaimed angrily, running over to him.

"Word on the street is you got stabbed," Jason said to her, shaking his head.

"I think I got in the way of the knife."

Coach glanced out at the Fort nervously. "Not that I don't love fighting," he said. "But shouldn't we maybe leave?"

Jason frowned. "Annabeth's still out there," he said.

"What about Percy?" Piper asked.

Rosie spotted something approaching the ship, out on the horizon.

"Bird," she muttered to herself. She wasn't quite sure if she was seeing things or not.

"He's buying us some time in the water. Maybe I should go back for her…"

"Romans," Rosie said softly.

Leo snapped towards her. "What was that Freckles?"

A group of eagles landed onto the railing of the ship, glancing at them menacingly. A intricate-looking chariot landed onto the deck, a trio of angry Romans on it.

"Romans."

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**would love to hear everyone's thoughts on the story so far! any favorite parts? **


	17. Swept Out to Sea

**SEASBLU- haha definitely not judging! I'm the one who keeps putting poor Rosie into these situations lol**

**radoddish- your reaction i'm dead haha**

**hoove-print-on-your-heart: thanks so much for your comment! Jason's mysterious "friends" will be discussed more later- they kinda play a role in the whole jason struggling with his identity arc. and not gonna lie, for a hot second at the wayyy beginning of this fic I did think about making Rosie/Jason a thing! now I can't even imagine it, it's more of a sister ragging on her brother 24/7 but loving him to death vibe...thanks so much for the kind words!**

* * *

Jason, to everyone's surprise, threw down his sword.

"Uh, kid, what are you doing?" Coach asked, holding his branch up, frozen.

Jason held his hands up, walking towards the chariot.

"Soldiers," he said calmly. "I'm asking you to stand down."

Freaking Jason- did he always have to be so calm?

The one in the front snorted, getting off the chariot. "And we ask our people to not betray us, but that seems to be too much to ask."

"Dakota," Jason started slowly. "What happened at New Rome-"

"Was an act of treason," Dakota snapped.

Jason continued trying to reason with him. "No, Dakota," he said. "We have to fulfill our duty."

"Duty," Rosie muttered to herself with a giggle, being quickly hushed by the others on deck.

Dakota set his jaw, nodding. "Right," He said flatly. "You definitely fulfilled your duty last time in Charleston, didn't you, Jason?"

What the hell had happened in Charleston?

Jason staggered back, clearly affected by these words. "Look, Dakota, I-"

"What, losing two soldiers here already wasn't enough for you? Are you here trying to kill your entire crew?"

"How about we all just stop?" Piper suggested soothingly as she stepped forward. "Maybe put down the weapons and talk?"

"That's the charmspeaker," one of the soldiers whispered into Dakota's ear.

Something caught Rosie's eyes: if she squinted, she could see a pair of sea-green eyes peeking over the railing of the ship, a wave surrounding them. Percy.

Percy made eye contact with her, raising his eyebrows in question. Rosie shook her head intensely at him, Percy quickly disappearing from view.

Dakota nodded, looking at Piper with a smug smile.

"She's no Reyna," one of the soldiers said.

"Oh, you shouldn't have said that," Rosie muttered deliriously.

Piper glared murderously. "I could make this much _harder _for you three."

"Oh, yeah?" The third soldier shot back. "What are you when we have earplugs in? _Nothing_."

Piper's face hardened, as Jason stepped forward. "Hey- that was uncalled for. Let's just all calm down, okay?"

"He's right," Hazel piped in timidly.

"Enough out of you, Levesque," Dakota warned. He glanced at her and a silent Frank. "You two turned out to be such _disappointments_."

Percy's eyes popped up over the railing again. Leo let out a little shocked yelp, causing Rosie to quickly grab his hand. She squeezed it, causing him to give a small, knowing nod.

Frank stepped forward, a fierce fire in his eyes. "You should be disappointed, Dakota," he fired. "This- this isn't the Roman way."

Dakota shook his head curtly. "Sorry, Frank," He said. "But you three are no longer Roman."

_BOOM._

The ocean exploded, a thick wall of water shooting up into the sky, drenching the occupants of the _Argo II._ She heard the squeals of the eagles and yell of the soldiers, and a curse coming from Leo.

As the water finally subsided, Percy was standing there, leaning on the chariot, grinning down at the waterlogged soldiers.

"Gentleman," he greeted. "Sorry about that."

"_Jackson_!" Coach yelled angrily.

Piper shook her head in amazement. "You really are a one-trick pony, aren't you?"

Percy shrugged. "Feel free to join in, guys."

Jason smiled, summoning the wind with one hand, eagles being pushed aside, squawking angrily.

Frank was aiming arrow after arrow at chariots circling above, scarily accurate.

Hazel had unsheathed her sword, engaging in fierce swordplay with Dakota. Maybe Rosie was seeing things, but she could've swore Hazel was blinking back tears.

"Can I fire the ballista again?" Coach asked, swinging his bat at a soldier.

"No!" They said in unison.

Rosie grunted under her weight, trying to get up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Leo said, grabbing her. "You can't move; lie still!"

She shook her head. "No, really, I'm fine!" She turned to Coach. "Coach, I won't die if I exert myself, right?!"

"I don't know!" Coach admitted, whirling his bat over her his head.

"See?" She said to Leo, groaning as she got up.

"You are going to be the _death_ of me," Leo said, rolling his eyes as he chased an eagle off the deck.

Holding her shoulder and grimacing, Rosie threw herself to the railing, using a hand to weakly make a wave rise, sending some Romans back to shore. She could feel her energy depleting with each flick, black spots appearing in her vision.

Jason was standing next to her, causing wind and lightning to run amok, unleashing chaos onto the Roman soldiers. "Shouldn't you be resting?" he asked her, eyebrows raised.

"Just do me a favor and don't electrocute me, Sparky."

"Probably the least of your worries."

Rosie flicked her hand, a huge wall of water rising towards shore.

"Not bad, Stabby."

Rosie was about to turn to Jason with clever response when she realized Jason _hadn't_ been the one to say that. She turned around to see Percy standing there, looking impressed.

"Stabby?"

"It sounded better in my head."

Rosie couldn't help it: she laughed. She knew that she would have to have an uncomfortable conversation with Percy soon. For now, she would take being called Stabby.

"Help us? Stabby can only take so much," she joked.

Percy grinned, coming forward and standing next to the two of them. Together, the three of them caused all sorts of havoc, storm unleashed throughout the sea.

She couldn't help but think of the line in the prophecy: _To storm or fire the world must fall. _Maybe it was just Jason's wind powers, but she had chills.

Annabeth had finally appeared on the ship, being pulled on by Piper. "Go!" she screamed. "Go, go, go!"

The engine of the _Argo II _rumbled, the oars churning violently. Jason changed the course of winds, giving the ship a friendly push. Percy and Rosie called up an enormous wave together, the ship being set out to sea.

The three of them continued to work, the Fort slowly but surely disappearing from view. For a while, the pain disappeared, as she focused on the sea. She couldn't believe this was it; the ship was finally out to sea. The Romans couldn't continue to chase them. They were heading towards uncharted territory. What had Gaea called it? _A Dangerous Realm. _

"I think...I think we did it," Percy finally said, panting from exhaustion. "I think-"

Rosie fell to the deck with a _thud_, Jason and Percy following her on the way down.

"Oh god," Piper moaned, appearing overhead. "You idiots."

"Everything..._hurts,_" Jason muttered.

Annabeth appeared next to Piper, rolling her eyes. She held out three water bottles. "Drink."

Rosie eagerly accepted the water, her entire body throbbing with pain. Piper handed her some nectar.

"This too," she told her. "_Stabby._"

She accepted it, knowing Piper wouldn't take no for an answer.

Hazel appeared to be comforting Frank about something.

Frank angrily wiggled out of her grasp. "No, Hazel," he said.

"Frank, come on-"

"How are you okay with this?"

"We're doing what we have to do."

"We just lost our _home_."

An awkward silence fell among the deck, as Frank sheepishly stared at his feet.

"Uh, Coach, could you get Leo? He's been steering for a while." Annabeth, thankfully, broke the silence.

Leo walked over like a zombie, eyes glazed over as he slumped down next to Rosie. Rosie wordlessly handed him her water bottle, Leo thanking her with a weak smile.

"No signs of pursuit," Frank announced, slightly grumbling.

"Or land," Hazel piped in, looking nauseous and holding her stomach.

It was eerie, almost- to be completely surrounded by ocean on all sides. It terrified her.

Leo wearily turned to Annabeth. "Did you find that map, at least?"

Annabeth hesitated, but nodded. "I...I have to study it. Later. How far are we from those coordinates I gave you?"

"About an hour or so," Leo answered. "Um, any chance we know what we're looking for?"

Annabeth glanced at Percy.

"I, uh, talked to some Nereids," he explained. "They told us to seek out Chiron's brothers, who would want to hear about the aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant by this but.." he broke off with a groan of pain. "She warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess we met at the aquarium, might send her children after us."

"That's just lovely," Frank muttered.

Jason tried to stand up- an absolutely terrible idea. Piper quickly grabbed him to keep him from falling over. Defeated, he slid back down next to Rosie and Percy.

"Maybe we can get the ship aloft?" Jason suggested. "Flying could-"

"Wish we could, bro," Leo said. "But according to Festus, the port aerial stabilizer got pulverized when the ship raked against the dock at the Fort."

"Which we only did because we were trying to save you," Annabeth reminded him.

"And saving me should always be a priority," Leo agreed. "All I'm saying is that it'll take some time to fix. Until then, we have to stay in the sea."

"That's alright," Percy said. "The sea is fine." He winced after he said this, looking at Rosie. She was too out of it to react to it.

"We have to hurry," Hazel pleaded. "Nico only has three days left."

"We will!" Leo quickly reassured her. "We can make it to Rome in three days- assuming, er, nothing happens."

Frank sighed. "Does anyone have any good news?"

"Yes!" Leo exclaimed happily. "As Festus tells me, Buford made it back safely while we were in Charleston. Unfortunately, he lost your pants. My deepest apologies."

"Dang it!" Frank barked angrily.

Rosie couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Frank, when did you grow a third arm?"

Everyone paused, giving her a confused look.

"Yeah," Percy said slowly. "Is the world upside down for you too, Rosie?"

"Spinning," Jason supplied helpfully. "The world is spinning."

Rosie and Percy nodded.

"That's it," Piper said. "Rest for the three of you, now."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Frank, help us out here?"

Frank threw a suspicious glare at Leo.

"Relax dude," he said to him. "Just don't drop them, okay?"

Frank grunted in response, walking over to Rosie.

"Please don't drop me again," she begged, as Frank lifted her like a rag doll.

"I was being shot at!"

"Whatever!"


	18. Shrimpzilla?

**swedishmerlinfan: thanks so much for your sweet comment, I'm so glad you like Rosie! And yes, Percy&Rosie scenes coming soon :)**

* * *

She thought her head was going to explode.

She aroused from her nap when all she could hear was _thump thump thump._ She crawled out of bed, stopping to throw up whatever concoction Coach had given her for her injuries. Yeesh- she wasn't going to be able to stomach Gatorade for a while. Wearily, Rosie opened the door.

Her friends had started gathering in the hallway, which meant that thankfully, she wasn't going crazy. Something was wrong.

"What _is that_?" Piper questioned, hands over her ears.

"Could it be Coach?" Hazel suggested.

"Doing what, tap-dancing?" Annabeth said.

"He has been known to be a fan of Zumba," Rosie admitted, shuddering at a certain memory from Wilderness.

"Valdez, take the helm!" They heard a yell from above.

"One way to find out," Jason said, starting to take the stairs two at a time, the rest of them beginning to follow him up.

"What's goin- Gah, _shrimpzilla_!" Percy yelled as they surfaced on board.

Rosie didn't know what he meant at first. As soon as she saw the monster, it became clear to her. The thing in the water could only be described as a mix of a shrimp and cockroach, a mass of tentacles encircling the ship, a pale puffy crawfish face staring up at them.

"Gross, what is _that_?" Piper cried.

"Didn't you hear Percy?" Rosie asked her. "It's _Shrimpzilla_!"

Frank quickly ran to Hazel's side, who was looking dazed. Leo ran to the helm, a panicked look on his face.

The monster rammed the ship, causing Rosie to almost tumble overboard, grabbing onto her friends for hold.

Leo's hands flew madly across the controls.

"What happened?" Rosie cried.

"I don't know!" Coach snarled, looking around for his bat.

"It's all my fault!" Leo moaned miserably. "I'm stupid! Stupid, stupid, I forgot the sonar!" When it came to the ship, Leo never messed up- that was weird.

The ship tilted dangerously, like it was about to capsize.

"_Sonar_?" Coach yelled angrily. "Pan's pipes, Valdez! Maybe if you hadn't been staring into Hazel's eyes, holding hands for so long-"

"_What_?" Frank yelped.

Rosie snapped her head towards Leo, who was staring at the controls, blushing. Why had he been holding hands with Hazel? And why did they make her extremely _annoyed_?

Leo was going to get them all killed- that's why.

"It wasn't like that, Frank!" Hazel claimed.

"Who cares?!" Piper exclaimed. "Jason, can you summon anything?"

Jason still looked drained from Charleston. He looked unstable just standing there. He shook his head softly. "I-I can't. I'm sorry."

"You two!" Annabeth pointed at Rosie and Percy. "Could you two talk to that thing?"

Rosie glanced at the monster nervously. "Um. I think I'm good."

"Maybe it's nothing?" Percy offered. "Maybe he's just curious-"

Percy's words were cut off as a tendril of the monster lashed out onto the deck, slamming him in the chest and sending him flying down the stairs. Annabeth screamed as dozens of tendrils encircled the ship. One entangled around Piper's legs, dragging her screaming towards the railing.

"Piper!" Rosie screamed, chasing after her, as her friends began to fight the monster.

Rosie ran after her, sliding down the deck, eventually catching up and grabbing her with her better arm.

"Get me out of this!" Piper pleaded, more tendrils encircling her.

Rosie drew her dagger out, stabbing at the tendrils, freeing Piper.

"I don't even like seafood," Piper moaned, standing up and standing back to back with Rosie.

"Nose-hair attack, people, look alive!" Coach yelled, leaping into action with his bat.

Rosie and Piper tried their best to keep the tendrils at bay, stabbing and dodging. Rosie could still feel her injuries slowing her down, the tendrils occasionally wrapping themselves around her. The monster was only getting more angry, rocking the boat dangerously.

"I'm not balanced enough for this!" Rosie complained, staggering into the slimy pink tendril of Shrimpzilla.

Percy still hadn't reappeared from below. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Annabeth and Jason working together against the tendrils.

"Nice to see those two getting along!" Rosie yelled to Piper, nodding towards them.

Meanwhile, Leo was yelling something at Hazel, trying to get her attention.

"Open it, Hazel!" He was yelling. Leo turned to Coach. "Coach, take the wheel!"

Coach groaned. "Valdez, I'm in the middle of something! Can anyone say shrimp ceviche?"

"Coach! Turn us toward the monster, or we'll capsize!"

Coach gracefully danced through the tentacles, smashing them along the way to the helm.

"You better have a plan, kid!" Coach shouted, taking the controls.

"Have a little faith in me, Coach!"

"_Do_ you have a plan?" Rosie yelled from across deck, grimacing as a tentacle touched her ankle.

"A bad one, yes!"

The monster rammed into the ship, which was tilting dangerously- it had to be at a forty-five degree angle. Piper and Rosie fell into one another, falling onto the deck.

"If you jump, I jump, am I right?!" Rosie yelled to Piper as they started to slowly slide down deck.

"Now is not the time for a _Titanic_ reference!" Piper snapped.

Leo was running madly around, Hazel following him with something in her hands. "Frank!" He called out to Frank, who was still shooting his arrows at Shrimpzilla. "Buy us some time, will you? Turn into a shark or something?"

Frank paused, scowling. "Do I have-"

A tentacle slammed into Frank, knocking into him and sending him overboard with a splash.

Rosie grimaced. "Ooh, there goes Frank!"

"That's going to be us in a second! Help me!"

The two of them began attempting to climb back up deck. It was futile, though, since the ship continued tilting upward, the incline getting greater. She felt like she was rock climbing.

"We're slipping!" Rosie said to Piper.

"No shit!" Piper angrily replied.

Suddenly, Rosie realized that Leo and Hazel were wrapped in a tentacle together, lifted up into the air dangerously. They were both holding something Rosie couldn't make out.

Jason was flying around above, trying to get the monster's attention.

Something crashed into Piper and Rosie, sending them further down the ship. It was Annabeth, cursing loudly.

"Hey, welcome to the party!" Rosie told her.

"We're going to capsize!" Annabeth screamed in her ear.

"No," Piper said in a fearful tone. "We're not. We may die of an explosion, though."

"_What_?!"

"Look!"

Piper pointed up to Leo, who had set himself on fire. The creature bellowed in pain, its mouth opening.

"Shit!" Annabeth cried. "He's holding Greek fire!"

Greek fire- Rosie knew what that meant. Only one thought was going through her head, a thought directed towards Leo: _You idiot. _

_BOOM. _

The sky became bathed in an eerie green light, as the creature jerked. Green flames exploded, some landing onto the sail of the ship. Rosie winced, her eyes burning from the light. The ship jerked back to being level. What had just happened?

"Rosie! Rosie!" Someone was screaming her name.

A looming figure was overhead, flying above her. Her eyes adjusted, and she realized it was Jason.

"The ship's on fire!" he yelled. "We need you!"

Shakily, she stood. Piper and Annabeth were lying on the deck, looking dazed and slightly shocked. Coach was holding his stomach at the helm, muttering about seafood. Percy still hadn't emerged from below deck- he was probably hurt. She didn't see Leo, Hazel, or Frank. Where were they?

She grabbed Jason's hand. Jason lifted her up into the air, towards the sail, which was ablaze with green flames. She summoned water, extinguishing the sails as best as she could. From what she could tell, the ship was pretty damaged.

"Where's Leo?" She asked Jason as they landed. "I thought I saw him near the monster…"

He winced. "I don't know. I think he went overboard, along with Hazel and Frank."

Everything had happened so fast. She nodded, moving towards the railing. "Alright. I'll go find them."

Jason reached an arm out, grabbing. "Wait. I'll help you."

She shook her head at him. "No- this isn't your territory." Unfortunately, it was hers. "If you find Percy, send him to help." She began climbing the railing, gulping at the water.

"Rosie-"

"I'll find them," she said, jumping into the water.


	19. A Chip on Your Shoulder

**radoddish- ah yes, terrible and wonderful, isn't it haha?**

**hoove-print-on-your-heart: lots of sibling love coming your way! and i can neither confirm nor deny any rosiexleo (roleo? idk lol) ****moments :) and Rosie will definitelyyy see her dad again...and it'll be wild! thanks so much for the comment!**

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For once, she was grateful for the sea.

She couldn't stand to be on the ship- no doubt her friends were scrambling around, trying to fix the ship from the destruction of Shrimpzilla. She didn't care about the ship at the moment- she just wanted to find her friends- find Leo.

Rosie had scrounged the seafloor, swimming into the darkest depths of the ocean to look for them. Much to her chagrin, she had found nothing. She must have searched every inch, but it seemed like Leo, Frank, and Hazel had literally _disappeared. _

All she had noticed was how ocean was kind of _gross. _It had this murkiness about it, a murkiness not thanks to seaweed, but to garbage left behind by god-knows-who. She could hardly see, needing frequent breaks to the surface.

Come on Leo- Where was he?

"You've been going awhile...you should take a break."

She turned around, unaware of Percy was behind her. Rosie had seen him entered the water before, but they had mostly gone their separate ways in looking. She jumped a little.

Percy frowned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She shook her head tightly. "You're fine, I just didn't see you there."

"I mean it, though," he said. "You should rest. You did quite literally get stabbed three hours ago."

Had it already only been three hours? It felt like a lifetime ago.

She winced, touching her shoulder. "I can't," she said. "I wouldn't feel right on the ship..not before we find them. If that makes sense."

"Yeah," Percy said, nodding in agreement. "I get that."

An awkward silence spread between the two, the two of them silently bobbing across the ocean surface.

"Kind of gross down there," Rosie commented, referring to the ocean.

Percy let out a small laugh. "I know, right? One of these days, when something isn't trying to kill me, I'm going to do something about the pollution."

She smiled at him. "I'll help you out."

Percy hesitated. "Rosie, listen…"

"I'm sorry I exploded on you the other day," she quickly cut in. "That wasn't fair of me."

He shrugged. "I shouldn't have interrogated you. I mean, _no wonder_, you didn't tell me.." he trailed off. "I'm sorry about Max."

"Don't apologize, Percy," Rosie pleaded. "It wasn't you." She had to stop blaming innocent people for her pain.

"How do you stand it?" He asked, shaking his head. "I-I think about it and I get so _angry_ for you..."

"I was angry for a really long time. Sometimes, I still am, you know? It definitely came on when I met you…" She winced. "I think part of me was just jealous you had this beautiful life with your mom, and I…"

Percy nodded. "I know."

"But we're not him. We aren't Barnacle Breath."

Percy's mouth twitched. "Barnacle Breath," he said. "I call him that sometimes."

Rosie grinned. "It's almost like we're related."

Percy laughed out loud. "Good one," he said. The laughter on his lips died. "Rosie, can I ask you something?"

She faltered. "Um-"

"Sorry. God, sorry, forget it-"

"No. Um. It's fine...go ahead."

"You said…" he trailed off uncomfortably, frowning. "You mentioned leaving home? You were..er, homeless, for a while?"

She paused, silently nodding her head. "Yeah," she said softly. She often didn't think about that part of her life- sleeping in sewers and stealing from mini-marts. What she did at that restaurant...that part of her life was tucked away neatly. "It wasn't terrible- it didn't last that long. I was only on the run for a few months before...other things happened." She thought of running into Hera. "Leo had it much worse."

"Leo was on the run?"

Again, she only knew bits and pieces about Leo being on the run- neither of them were too eager to share it. And yet, she knew he entered Wilderness after her, six lonely months into her time there. It wasn't her story to tell. "Yeah."

Percy gulped uncomfortably. "I'm sorry to hear that. I grew up in New York, so the homeless problem…"

Rosie nodded, understanding what he meant.

"You aren't a mistake."

She often felt like she was; like some dirty secret that shouldn't be talked about. Add in the whole earthquake thing, and it really made her feel like she shouldn't exist. Hearing Percy saying this helped. She wasn't a mistake- she had to learn that.

She said nothing, just nodded.

"Tell me about Max."

She glanced over at him. Was he being serious? Most people didn't want to hear about Max past the tragedy- it was too uncomfortable.

She felt a smile spread across her face. "He wanted to be a firefighter."

Percy smiled. "That's ironic."

"I know, right?" She laughed. "He was smart- _so_ smart. He was already doing multiplication tables. He was extraordinary."

"Wow."

"Definitely the smartest Reiger. He was always doing all sorts of puzzles. My mom got him a Rubix cube...he was obsessed with it. It's on my desk, actually." She sighed. "I don't want to be angry anymore. Makes things a little..chaotic." She thought back to almost accidentally destroying the ship.

Percy nodded like he understood. "It's understandable. Not wanting a chip on your shoulder."

Rosie shuddered for some unexplainable reason. "What did you say?"

"Um...a chip on your shoulder. It means-"

Suddenly, she wasn't in the ocean anymore with Percy.

_She was in the Wilderness school gym, dressed in that ugly grey t-shirt and checkered shorts. Piper was next to her, hair braided back and wearing the same ugly uniform. The gym smelled of old socks and vaguely of pizza._

"_Where is he?" Piper said, eyes scanning the gym. "He said he would be on time."_

"_It's Leo," Rosie reminded her. "Is he ever on time?"_

_A flash of black curls appeared, as Leo quickly ran over to the two of them._

"_It's about time!" Rosie chided him. "You did it?"_

"_Of course I did it. Prepared to be wowed, chicas."_

"_This isn't going to kill him, right?" Piper asked slightly nervously. "Remember, I only agreed to do this because you said it wouldn't kill him."_

"_It won't," Leo reassured her. "Probably."_

_Rosie smiled. "A momentous occasion," she said. "Piper breaking the rules!"_

"_Guys!"_

"_He'll be fine," Rosie said, crossing her arms. "Probably."_

_Coach Hedge strolled in, various students milling around with bored looks. "Alright, enough chit-chat!"_

_The three of them stared at Coach intensely, waiting for it to happen._

_Coach noticed, giving the three of them a confused look. "What are you cupcakes looking at? Run already!"_

"_I think I sprained my ankle, Coach," Rosie said as an excuse._

"_I have a doctor's note," Leo said._

"_Um-I have...I have a cold," Piper finally came up with something. _

_Coach angrily huffed. "Listen, you three-" Coach broke off, eyes becoming wide with alarm as his pants caught on fire. _

"_Ah!" Coach began patting his pants furiously, trying to extinguish the flames. _

_The three of them couldn't stop laughing, clutching their stomachs and gasping for air._

"_Leo-" Piper broke off in gasps. "How did you even do that?"_

"_A magician never reveals his secrets, Pipes," Leo said, winking at her._

_Coach glowered at the three of them. "You three!"_

_Rosie looked at him with mock outrage. "Coach, you don't know if that was us!"_

"_When is it not, Reiger?" Coach grumbled. "I can't wait to retire."_

"_Aw, come on, Coach!" Leo exclaimed. "Don't have a chip on your shoulder just because of us."_

Rosie jerked, realizing she was back in the ocean with Percy, who was staring at her worriedly.

What had just happened? Had she hallucinated something?

Setting Coach's pants on fire...she thought that was a fake memory- she could've sworn it was something she, Leo, and Piper thought they did with Jason.

Percy was saying something to her, but she couldn't hear it.

What was that? Was that...

The answer hit Rosie like a truck- she remembered asking Chiron if she would ever get the memories Hera tampered with back, the ones she manipulated to make them believe Jason had been at Wilderness with them. She struggled to remember exactly what he had said, but she was pretty sure he had said it could be triggered- that the memories could return.

Holy shit.

"Ro?" Percy was speaking. "Ro, are you okay?"

She snapped back to attention. "Huh? Did you just call me Ro?"

"Sorry, maybe we're not at the nickname point. I'm just-"

"No," she said, surprising herself. "Ro is fine." She didn't really care at the moment; that memory was pounding in her head, the possibility of uncovering more terrifying her.

Percy and Rosie eventually headed back to the ship, a quiet understanding between the two of them. Piper, sitting on the railing, perked up hopefully when she saw them.

"Any sign of them?"

Percy shook his head, as Piper's face fell.

Buford the End Table scuttled up to Rosie, Coach and Annabeth at its heels.

"Hey," Rosie greeted them as she patted Buford. "How's the ship doing?"

"I think we fixed most of the damage," Annabeth said, her grey eyes looking especially stormy. Rosie hated how for the duration of their friendship, Annabeth was worried about something. "We could sail, but...I'm not comfortable leaving."

"So we won't," Jason landed from above, where he had been attempting to fix the sails. "We stay here for the night, and hope they turn up ...no man left behind."

None of them seemed to like this idea too much, but no one seemed to have a better one.

"And woman," Rosie muttered, thinking of poor Hazel.

Jason nodded. "Get some rest," He instructed them. "There's no need for all of us to be up."

"But-" Rosie began.

Piper jumped off the railing, placing an arm around her. "Come on," she said. "Let's go rest."

Rest never came. When 2AM came, Rosie decided to sneak into Piper's room.

Neither of them really seemed to be in the mood to talk. Piper was cutting her hair- she always did when she was nervous. Rosie listened to the repetitive _snip-snip-snip_, watching Piper make uneven chops.

"We should throw Jason a birthday party," Rosie muttered.

Piper stopped cutting for a second, looking at Rosie through the dim lighting. "What?"

"July 1st- we should throw him a party."

Piper shook her head tightly. "Jason doesn't celebrate his birthday," she said.

"I mean, he never got the chance to. He was...raised by wolves. And then…" She tried to imagine a bunch of Romans with party hats singing 'Happy Birthday' but she just couldn't.

"I don't think it'd be a good idea. July 1st is kind of a big day for us."

That was true- and yet, Rosie didn't want to let go of the thought.

"Pipes...what was the best birthday you ever had?"

Piper paused, a small smile popping up on her face. "I have two. When I turned seven, my dad let me skip school and we went surfing and then to McDonald's."

Rosie laughed.

"And the other time would be at Wilderness, with you and Leo when I turned 15. You know, that time you guys rented _King of Sparta_."

Rosie winced. "And we found out about your dad."

Piper smiled. "What about you?"

"I have two, also." She smiled to herself. "My fifth birthday- I went down to the shore with my Mom and my uncle Buzz. It was everything I could have wanted as a kid. And...the birthday we just had, in the Bunker."

Piper giggled. "Even with that god-awful cake?"

"Even with the god-awful cake."

Piped began snipping again, humming. "We'll throw Jason a birthday party."

"With hats."

"With hats."

"And a piñata."

"And ...a piñata." Piper sighed. "Maybe I can finally be put to use this way."

Rosie frowned. "Piper?"

Piper wasn't looking at her. Instead, she was inspecting her pair of scissors, ones she had swiped from Leo. "I...what have I done on this quest?" That seemed to be the question all of them were asking themselves.

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Is this about those dumb soldiers?"

"Can you blame me? They had wax in their ears, Rosie. My charmspeaking did nothing."

"Piper, you know your way around a dagger."

"Not as well as Reyna probably does," Piper said slightly bitterly.

"_Piper_," Rosie admonished softly. The words of the soldier came back to her: _She's no Reyna._ "Come on."

"Do you think Jason…" she trailed off. "Am I not Roman enough for him?"

"Piper! Don't say that!"

"What?!" She exclaimed. "Reyna is this beautiful, strong _powerhouse_-"

"So are you," Rosie insisted angrily. "You and I both know there's no reason to compare two completely different people. You have your strengths, and so does Reyna. Jason loves you _because _you're Piper."

"My own mother talked more about Reyna than me."

Rosie made a face of disgust. "What did your mom do, Piper?"

"Nothing. Just…" she sighed. "It just feels like since I'm with Jason now, she's not interested in my life at all. Like her work is done, I guess."

"I mean...isn't that a good thing?"

Piper rolled her eyes, snipping furiously. "She mentioned Annabeth, Hazel, Reyna, and even _you._"

Rosie jerked back in surprise. "Wait, sorry, _what_?"

Piper looked nervous, as she began backtracking. "My mother says things. She likes to meddle-"

"Piper, dear god, what did she say about me?" Rosie didn't like the sound of the love goddess talking about her.

Piper hesitated. "Well...she was talking about love stories."

"Gross, but continue."

"And she...she called yours…" Piper looked upset. "I don't want to say it, Rosie."

"Please say it."

"She said yours was tragically beautiful-like it was some movie to watch." Piper angrily rolled her eyes. "She thinks everything is just some romantic story, doesn't care who gets hurt in the process."

Rosie didn't like the sound of that. _Tragically beautiful-_ what the hell did that mean? And when exactly would this love story happen? She was only sixteen, after all- it's not like she liked anyone.

Piper was looking at her sadly.

"I don't know how to make you feel better," Rosie admitted.

She felt like she had failed her friend. She didn't know how to comfort her, make her realize _how _important and valued she was. Maybe she couldn't- maybe Piper had to do that for herself.

"Yeah," Piper said. "I don't know what to say to you, either."

Rosie smiled softly. "Your mother meddles."

"My mother meddles."

"Sleep solves any issue."

Piper nodded in agreement. "Sleep solves any issue."

Piper moved over in her bed to make room for Rosie. Rosie slid next to her best friend, ready to forget this day.

* * *

**in exciting news, I've almost completely finished writing this fic! super excited for you guys to read the rest.**


	20. The Plight of Annabeth Chase

**radoddish- with MoA, yes! should've clarified that- got prematurely excited because I thought MoA would've taken me yearsssss to finish haha**

**SEASBLU- i am writing another one! i've got HoH and BoO outlined but haven't started on them just yet**

**hoove-print-on-your-heart- omg thanks so much for pointing that out, you're the best! you're right, those two words completely contradict one another, total fail on my part haha. glad you liked the chapter!**

* * *

Rosie wearily walked onto the deck of the _Argo II_ the next morning, seeing Jason stand dejectedly at the railing.

"Nothing?" She asked.

Jason sighed, shaking his head.

"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" She asked him.

"Nope."

She snorted softly. "Sounds about right," she said, leaning on the railing.

Something broke through the surface- it was Percy, gasping for air.

"Nothing," he called out to Jason and Rosie.

Rosie shook her head as Percy climbed back on board. "I didn't realize you went back out looking."

Percy shrugged. "I could've tried harder- with Shrimpzilla, I mean. It's my fault they're gone."

Coach was at the helm, humming a song. "Oh, relax," he said, drumming his fingers on the control pad. "We'll find them."

Rosie exchanged a look with Jason. "That's uncharacteristically positive of you, Coach."

"Who says I'm not positive?"

"Er- no one."

Piper appeared from below deck, her choppy hair messy and disheveled, dark circles under her eyes. Annabeth was at her heels, looking pissed off.

"Hey," Percy said. "You guys alright?"

Annabeth ran a hair through her blond hair, loudly sighing. "We sent a dream vision to Chiron- warned him about the Romans."

Rosie gulped. "So that's it, then? They're headed towards camp?"

Piper nodded, pulling out her dagger, Katoptris. "I...I keep seeing Romans driving in SUVs, headed towards New York."

"They're out for blood," Annabeth muttered softly.

Jason looked guilty, staring out at the sea. "Camp will be okay," he assured her. "They're good fighters."

Annabeth's mouth became a flat line. "That's the only home I've ever had, Jason."

He nodded. "I know."

Percy sighed. "Was there any _good_ news from this conversation?"

"Tyson and Ella made it to camp safely," Piper offered.

Rosie was relieved to hear that- maybe if the Romans didn't completely destroy camp, she could get to know Tyson better.

"Thank the gods," Percy muttered.

Annabeth let out a sigh of aggravation. "It's all my fault," she said, angrily clenching her fists. "I _told_ Reyna where camp was. It was completely-I'm _stupid_-" She broke off, biting her lip in frustration.

Piper placed a comforting arm around her. "Stop that," she ordered gently. "How were you supposed to know that would be used against us?"

"She's right, Annabeth," Percy said gently. "There's nothing we could've done to prevent this."

Jason huffed angrily. "It's all Octavian," he said, shaking his head furiously. "If Reyna could just listen to us…"

No one seemed to want to point out to Jason that Reyna was past listening to Jason, he still saw Reyna, his friend and maybe-almost girlfriend.

"We'll be fine!" Rosie exclaimed nonchalantly. "Camp isn't falling to someone who wears _beanie babies _on his belt."

This seemed to lighten the mood, eliciting some laughs from the group.

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "I hope you're right."

Rosie grinned at her. "I think you need a hug."

"Oh dear god, not a Rosie hug."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Is there something wrong with your hugs?"

"They're _life-changing_," Rosie emphasized.

Annabeth backed behind Percy nervously. "Don't let her hug me. Not again."

Rosie held her arms out threateningly. "Come on, you know you love it-"

Annabeth was laughing, but still pushed Percy in front of her. "Rosie!"

"Guys!" Piper interrupted, pointing at something. "Look!"

Jason's mouth dropped in shock. "It's them!"

Rosie squinted off into the distance, a grin slowly forming on her face. She could make out three heads, slowly coming their way. Their friends were back.

She turned to Percy and Annabeth. "Tell me my hug offer didn't just summon them."

Piper excitedly bounced on her heels, apparently unable to wait for the three of them to reach the ship. She climbed down the side of the ship, swimming over to the three of them. She planted a kiss on Leo's cheek, who looked surprised but pleased.

Leo triumphantly climbed onto the deck, raising his arms in victory. "What, no kiss?" He said to Rosie. "You didn't miss my blinding smile? My luscious locks of hair?"

She grinned, giving him a shove. "You smell like high tide."

"Bite me."

"It's good to see you guys," Percy said, giving Hazel a hug.

Hazel smirked at him. "Not a fan of your territory,"

"It grows on you."

Frank shifted uncomfortably in his wet clothes. "Does anyone have a pair of pants I could borrow?"

Jason clapped him on the shoulder. "I got you, buddy."

Leo held out a picnic basket. "Anyone want a brownie?"

The seven of them gathered in the Mess Hall for a celebratory breakfast. Although Rosie knew Coach was secretly happy about the return of their friends, he deemed the reunion to be too fluffy for his tastes, retreating to the deck.

"So, I'm glad you guys are back and these brownies _are _delicious," Annabeth began. "But I'm going to need to hear the full story."

Leo nodded, chewing his brownie thoughtfully. "Ran into some fish centaurs," he said. "They have this impressive combat camp down in the ocean."

"Combat camp?" Percy asked, looking extremely shocked.

"Yeah- to train mer-heroes."

Rosie perked up. "Like _the Little Mermaid_?"

"That's what I said!" Leo said happily. "Anyways, Shrimpzilla is apparently known as Skolopendra."

"Courtesy of Kate," Rosie sighed, looking at Percy and Frank.

"Their camp was amazing," Hazel gushed. "Aphros and Bythos loved hearing about my horse, Arion."

Annabeth looked suspicious. "And that's it? You just talked to them and got brownies?"

Frank shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Frank?"

"Sorry, it's just-these pants- Anyways, um..they gave us a letter. One that'll introduce you to Tiberinus, the god of the Tiber River. You'll need it once we get to Rome."

"Incredible," Jason muttered to himself. "These brownies are just _incredible_."

Piper nearly choked. "Is that really all you got from the story?"

He shrugged. "What? I heard it. Merpeople. Tiber River. Got it. The brownies, however-"

"I agree!" Frank said happily. "I think they might rival Esther's cookies."

Rosie gasped. "You take that back."

Percy was still unsettled by the story. "They didn't want to meet me?"

Rosie stifled a laugh. "Bit of a big head there, my friend."

"I just can't believe they didn't want to meet me! They didn't want to meet you either, Rosie!"

She shrugged. "I don't care!" She said, laughing.

"It's just undersea politics," Hazel assured him. "The merpeople are pretty territorial. The good news is that they're going to free the captives from the aquarium. And they'll help protect our ship."

Percy exchanged a relieved look with Rosie. "Okay...yeah. That's great- but they seriously didn't want to meet me?"

Annabeth hit his arm, hiding a smile. "Focus, Seaweed Brain! We've got other things to worry about."

Hazel nodded in agreement. "Like my brother. He has less than two days- in my conversation with the fish-centaurs, they said it was vital to save Nico. They kept saying that brothers are essential to the quest…"

Rosie gave her an encouraging smile. "We'll save him."

Piper nodded. "He probably has information about the Doors of Death. We can make it in time. Right, Leo?"

"Huh?" Leo said through muffled brownie. "Oh-yeah. We should reach the Mediterranean tomorrow morning. Then spend the rest of that day sailing to Rome, or flying, if I can get the stabilizer fixed by then…" he trailed off. Rosie could tell the gears in his head were already turning.

Jason put his brownie down. "That means we'll put down in Rome on the last possible day for Nico. Only 24 hours to find him-at most."

Percy frowned. "We can't forget about the Mark of Athena, either."

Annabeth fidgeted with her backpack- something Rosie noticed she appeared to be attached to lately. She pulled out a small, thin bronze disk. "This is the map I found at Fort Sumter. It's…" she broke off with a gasp. "It's blank!"

"Was it like that before?" Percy asked, taking it and examining it.

"No! I had been looking at it in my cabin and...shit. It's like the Mark of Athena- I can only see it when I'm alone."

Frank scooted away from the disk nervously. Rosie made a face of disgust at his brownie mustache. "Um. So...what exactly was on the map? And what is the Mark of Athena? I'm still confused."

Annabeth took the disk back from Percy. "It...it was hard to read, but it showed me a spot on the Tiber River in Rome. I think that's where my quest starts...what I have to take to follow the Mark."

"And where you might meet Tiberinus?" Piper suggested. "But, Annabeth, what is the Mark?"

"Coin."

"What?"

Annabeth pulled out a silver drachma. "I've been carrying this for a while...I got it when I saw my mom at Grand Central. It's an Athenian coin."

Annabeth passed it around, giving everyone a chance to look at it.

"An owl," Leo noted while inspecting the coin. "Okay, that makes sense...and the branch is an olive branch? But what's this inscription? AOE- area of effect?"

"Alpha, theta, epsilon," Annabeth corrected. "In Greek it stands for _Of the Athenians_...or children of Athena- it's sort of our motto."

"Like SPQR," Jason suggested.

Annabeth nodded. "The Mark of Athena is an owl, just like that one. It usually appears in fiery red. I've dreamt about it a lot, and...I saw it at the fort." Annabeth took a shaky breath, describing hearing Gaea's voice at the fort. Rosie knew all too well what that felt like.

Percy took Annabeth's hand when she was done. "I should have been there for you."

She shook her head. "No one can be there for me. When we get to Rome, I have to go on my own. Otherwise, the Mark won't appear- and I have to follow it to the source."

Frank frowned. "And what's at the source?"

"A statue," Jason piped in quietly. "A statue of Athena, I'm guessing."

Piper gave him an odd look. "You said you didn't know the legend."

"I don't. But there's only one artifact that could possibly fit that description or legend." He turned to Annabeth. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you much earlier. But...I was terrified. If this legend is true-"

"I know," Annabeth said softly. "I don't blame you, Jason. "But if we manage to save this statue, Greeks and Romans...it could heal the rift."

"Sorry, wait," Rosie said. "Am I missing something- What statue?"

"The Athena Parthenos," Annabeth explained. "The most famous Greek statue of all time. Forty feet tall- it was glorious. It stood in the middle of the Parthenon in Athens."

A silence fell among the group.

Leo sighed. "Okay, I'll ask," he said. "What happened to this statue?"

"It disappeared," Annabeth said.

Leo jerked back. "A forty-foot-tall statue in the middle of the Parthenon just happened to disappear?"

Annabeth nodded. "It's still one of the biggest mysteries out there. Some thought it was destroyed by occasional invaders of Athens. Others thought the statue was carried off-"

"By us," Jason said bitterly. "By Romans- I mean. That's another theory, one that fits the legend I heard at Camp Jupiter. To break the spirits of the Greeks, the Romans carried off the statue when they took over Athens. They hid it in an underground shrine in Rome. They swore it would never see the light of day. They literally stole Athena- in hopes she would no longer be the symbol of Greek military power. She became Minerva, what the Romans considered to be a much tamer version."

"The children of Athena have been searching for it ever since," Annabeth said. "A few are chosen to look every generation or so. They're given a coin like me. They follow the Mark in hopes of being lead to the statue and getting it back."

Rosie still couldn't believe the sight of Annabeth and Jason being cordial and working together. 'When pigs fly' apparently happened today.

Percy looked as baffled as Rosie was feeling. "So...if you-you find this statue, what would we do with it? Could we move it?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But if we save it...it could unite the two camps. It could heal my mother of this hatred she's got, tearing her two aspects apart. Maybe...maybe it has something that could help us with the giants too."

How was Annabeth so...so willing? Sure, she seemed scared, but she was willing to do what she had to do.

"It could end thousands of years of hostility," Piper muttered in awe. "It could defeat Gaea. But if we can't help you…" she trailed off uncomfortably.

Annabeth shrugged. "I have to succeed," she said. "There's no other option."

Hazel nodded at her. "I don't like the idea of you doing this alone, but you're right. If this statue is the most powerful symbol of Athena ever created-"

"It could kick some serious booty!" Leo cut in.

"Wasn't the way I'd put it...but yes."

Rosie laughed. "That was poetic, Leo." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"But…" Percy took Annabeth's hand. "No child of Athena has ever found it. What's guarding it? What if spiders-"

"_Won through pain from a woven jail_," Frank recited. "Woven, maybe like webs?"

Annabeth's face drained of color.

"Frank, look what you did!" Rosie scolded.

"I'm sorry!"

"We'll deal with it when we get to it," Piper assured the group, putting charmspeak in her voice. "Annabeth will kick some serious booty."

"Yeah," Percy said, grinning. "I learned a long time ago: Never bet against Annabeth."

"I, too, learned that the hard way," Rosie said, shuddering at a certain memory from camp.

Annabeth laughed, shooting them a grateful look.

Leo slapped his hand on the table, making everyone jump. "Well! I'm all for morale and pep, but there's a ton that still needs to be fixed on the ship before we get to the Mediterranean. Please report to Supreme Commander Leo for some superfun chores!"


	21. Go the Distance

**radoddish- oh man be careful what you wish for! this is just the calm before the storm...**

**SEASBLU- haha i'm lowkey a fan of chores!**

* * *

"Is he serious?" Hazel muttered under her breath.

"Oh, Leo is hardly the serious type," Rosie told her. "But yes- yes he is."

"Oh gosh."

Rosie was 100% convinced that the chore Leo had assigned to her and Hazel was 99% made-up. He wanted them to do paint touch-ups. This, in theory, should've been fine. However, he wanted them to touch-up paint on the _outside _of the ship.

"Got it?" Leo asked expectantly as he finished assigning them their chore.

"No."

Leo sighed. "Freckles, I told you two-"

"This seems like a job for Jason," Hazel admitted, eyebrows raised.

"Hazel, I know you're from the 1940s and all, but today woman can do _just as much_ as men-"

"She meant the fact that we can't fly, idiot," Rosie cut in.

"Oh. That." Leo waved them off. "We've got rope. You guys can swim. You'll be fine."

"You have way too much power," Rosie said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the jar of paint from Leo.

Leo grinned. "I am supreme commander!"

Rosie took the paint brush, dipping it into the mustard yellow paint and flicking some onto Leo. "Leave."

So there they were, Rosie submerged in the water, repainting the spots of the _Argo II _that she could see, as Hazel hung above her, rope around her waist securing herself to the ship.

"I'm starting to think we did something to piss Leo off," Rosie said to Hazel, wanting to make some kind of conversation.

Hazel shot down a small smile at her. "It's not as bad as Frank- Leo has him swabbing the deck right now."

Rosie snorted to herself, sure that was conveniently planned by Leo.

Out of all the people on the ship, Hazel was the one Rosie had the most trouble figuring out. She didn't completely know Hazel's story; a lot of it seemed to be something nobody wanted to tell Rosie about. It didn't help that Hazel was seemingly nervous around her. Rosie really couldn't blame her for that, considering how harsh she had been on Hazel at first.

There was also another thing- the conversation she overheard Hazel and Frank having, back when they were in Kansas. They said Rosie could be "the one"- she sure as heck didn't know what that meant.

Something flew past her head, plopping into the water and snapping her out of her thoughts.

A groan came from Hazel. "Sorry, that was my paintbrush!"

"No worries, I'll get it."

She took a breath, submerging herself in the water. She could see the paintbrush, slowly descending into the water. She stroked towards it, grabbing it with her hand.

_You will be mine, Earthshaker. _

She winced, quickly heading back towards the surface.

_Everything that comes from the earth eventually returns to it. _

She broke through the surface, focusing on the _Argo II. _Gaea wasn't here- she just had to remind herself of that.

Gaea. Wasn't. Here. They were in the sea.

If Gaea was going to take her, she would have to go through Rosie's territory first.

"Rosie?"

She quickly produced a smile on her face, holding up the paintbrush. "Got it," she said, throwing it up to Hazel.

"Thanks," she said, turning back to the ship with an observant glance. "You think we did enough to convince him we tried?"

"Always," Rosie said, laughing.

_Plop. _

"Geez, Hazel Basil, did you drop that _again_?" Rosie giggled, getting ready to dive back into the water.

Hazel's face became frightened. "No! No...just...don't pick that up, okay?"

Rosie could see something shimmering in the water, something that came from Hazel. It was almost looked like...some sort of diamond. "But what-"

"Can we go back on deck, Rosie?"

Rosie felt embarrassed. "Um. Sure. You got it."

Annabeth was the only one to be seen on deck. She was sitting down, legs tucked underneath her, staring intently at her laptop screen. Annabeth had been the only one to get out of doing Leo's chores.

"Hey, Annabeth," Hazel said as they climbed on board. "How's the research going?"

"Huh?" Annabeth said blankly, eyes not looking up from the screen. "Um, I guess I'll have the spaghetti."

Hazel frowned. "What?" She glanced at Rosie. "Is she-"

In becoming friends with Annabeth Chase, Rosie had learned some things. For one: she was not someone you wanted to get on their bad side. Other than that, Rosie knew something else- Annabeth and Leo could be extremely similar. Staring at Annabeth on the deck, she could tell that she wasn't actually there. Like Leo, Annabeth got sucked into projects, devoting all her time to it.

"So I'm thinking about drowning Frank," Rosie said nonchalantly, waiting to gauge Annabeth's reaction.

Annabeth nodded robotically. "Sounds great. Ask Jason if you need help."

Rosie turned back to Hazel. "She's completely gone. Maybe try reaching her during non-business hours."

Hazel didn't seem satisfied by this answer. "She should get some sleep, right?"

"She'll be fine, Hazel." Spending six months at camp, Rosie learned that Annabeth could pull some serious all-nighters if needed. "Let's just let her think."

Annabeth would be fine- she just hoped this wasn't a lie she was telling herself.

Hazel nodded, frowning. "There's something I should tell you."

"I know, saltwater does no favors to my hair."

Hazel shook her head. "No, Rosie...it's not that."

Rosie paused. "Okay…" she tried to give Hazel a comforting smile. "Shoot."

"The merpeople...spoke highly of your father." Hazel cleared her throat, grimacing.

Rosie felt herself frown. "Alright…" she wasn't sure why Hazel was telling her this.

"I just…" Hazel trailed off. "It's weird, because they almost seemed...scared to meet you and Percy. And yet, they made it seem like your father was so good, the selfless one of the gods."

"Then they probably don't know about my brother." Rosie wished she was Annabeth right now, tuned into her laptop.

Hazel nodded, a troubled look on her face. "Right…" she paused. "You know, my brother Nico brought me back from the Underworld when the Doors of Death were opened."

What was the proper response to that? _Yeah, Hazel, that's relatable!_

She must have seen the look on Rosie's face, for she quickly jumped to finish explaining. "When Percy, Frank, and I closed the doors of Death...I thought I would have to return to the Underworld. I was technically an escaped soul. And yet…" she paused. "My father pardoned me. The god of Death, deemed the scariest of the gods, saved me. It doesn't seem selfless at first glance, but it is. He knows I have a purpose in this quest."

"Hazel-"

"I'm saying that the gods act in strange ways sometimes, but...I don't think they're completely corrupt. Their actions sometimes aren't so...obtuse."

Rosie felt her guard go up. "And I'm saying sometimes they make mistakes that we end up paying for."

Hazel nodded thoughtfully. "I know. I'm sorry- I didn't mean to insinuate anything bad, I just…" she blushed, embarrassed. "Riddles are sort of my thing. Things that seem direct at first...but actually have a completely different meaning and perspective if you look closely."

She walked away, feeling trapped by these words.

* * *

Rosie woke up to the sound of a horn blaring.

She groaned, cursing Leo- this had to be another stupid prank of his.

Half-asleep, she stumbled to her door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway.

The door to her right opened, Piper stepping out. Piper was half-dressed, a white t-shirt paired with a pair of flannel pj pants.

"What is _that?_" Rosie hysterically hissed.

Yawning, Piper shrugged. "Dunno. It would be nice if I could put some real pants on."

Angrily, Rosie began to march down the hallway. Interrupted sleep on the _Argo II _was becoming the norm, something she was _not _on board with. "Let's go kill Leo."

Piper quickly shuffled behind her, placing her hands on Rosie's shoulders and turning her around. "Other way, sweetie."

With a shock, Rosie realized the horn wasn't a dumb idea of Leo's. Stepping on deck, seeing all her friends hastily dressed, she realized it was another ship. A massive cruise ship was gliding past them, tourists excitedly waving at them from the rows of balconies. Some of them took pictures. None of them, however, looked shocked to see an Ancient Greek trireme.

"Nice hair," Leo, who had accidentally set himself on fire and was currently smoldering, said to her.

"Shut up," she muttered tiredly.

"Are you doing that?" Frank, whose shirt was inside out, asked her.

"What?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"The Mist? Do...do they not see the warship?"

She blinked at him. "I don't know. Am I doing it?" She groaned. "It's too early for this."

The ship blew its horn again, the entire deck vibrating.

Coach plugged his ears. "Do they have to be so loud?" he grumbled, eyeing the ship menacingly.

Frank shrugged, waving back to the ship. "They're being friendly."

"Well, someone tell them to _stop_," Rosie groaned, placing her hands over her ears.

"You are amazingly chipper in the mornings," Jason commented, the only one who looked annoyingly put together.

"Bye!" Leo called out to the tourists, raising a smoking hand.

"Permission to man the ballistae?" Coach asked hopefully.

"No," Leo quickly cut in.

Percy, who was wearing armor over his pajamas, frowned. "Why is that always your first action, Coach?"

"Oh my," Hazel whispered, as the ship edged past them, clearing their view.

Rosie snorted, about to make a joke about Hazel's 1940s talk. The joke, however, died on her lips as soon as she followed Hazel's gaze.

An enormous mountain jutted out from the sea. A massive fist of blinding white rock thrust into the sky, towering over them. She instantly felt diminished. It extended as far as she could see.

"The Rock of Gibraltar," Annabeth whispered, awe. "At the tip of Spain. And over there-" She pointed south, to a distant stretch of red and ochre hills. "I think that's Africa. We're at the mouth of the Mediterranean."

"A dangerous realm," Rosie muttered to herself.

Piper shifted uncomfortably, staring out at the horizon. "So...what now? Do we just...sail in?"

"Uh, yeah?" Leo said, confused. "Boats go through this shipping channel all the time."

"Not one full of demigods," Piper shot back at him, rolling her eyes.

"Beauty Queen-"

"What are you thinking, Annabeth?" Rosie asked Annabeth nervously. She could see Annabeth gazing at the Rock of Gibraltar.

"In the old days," Annabeth said. "They called this area the pillars of Hercules. The Rock was supposed to be one pillar. The other was one of the African mountains. Nobody is sure which one is which."

"Hercules, huh?" Percy frowned. "I don't like how that guy is everywhere- he's like the Starbucks of Ancient Greece."

"Are these pillars, um...dangerous?" Piper asked nervously.

"Well..for Greeks, they marked the end of the world," Annabeth explained. "The Romans said the pillars were inscribed with a Latin warning-"

"_Non plus ultra_," Percy said.

"Um. Yeah. Nothing Further Beyond- how did you know that?"

Shaking, Percy gulped and pointed. "I'm looking right at it."

An island shimmered into existence in front of them- how, she wasn't sure. An inscription appeared in the air, shining: _NON PLUS ULTRA._

Leo ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Um...so that's pretty ominous-sounding. Do I turn around, or…"

Frank jumped. "Is that a person?"

Sure enough, a figure was standing on the beach of the island. It was a dark-haired man in purple robes, arms crossed and glaring at the ship.

Rosie sighed. "I'm gonna take a guess and say that's Hercules?"

Jason nodded. "The most powerful demigod of all time," he added, slight admiration in his voice.

"Guys, I need an answer," Leo said urgently. "I can turn...we can take off! The stabilizers are working again. But I need to know quick-"

"Keep going," Annabeth fervently instructed. "He's probably guarding the straits. He...he's going to want to talk to us."

"He'll be on our side, right?" Piper asked nervously. "I mean, he is a demigod."

Jason sighed. "When he died, he became a god. You can never be sure with gods."

"Great," Percy said. "Seven of us against a god."

"And a kung-fu fighting satyr!" Coach scolded. "We can take him."

"No," Annabeth said. "We shouldn't overwhelm him. We send ambassadors ashore. Maybe one or two of us. Try to talk with him."

"I'll go," Jason volunteered. "He's a son of Zeus; we're half-brothers...maybe we'll get along."

"Or he might hate you," Rosie reminded him. She pointed to Percy. "I blew up the plumbing because of him."

Percy grinned. "Very true, Ro," he said, holding his hand up for a high-five. Rosie smacked it with a smile.

Jason scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "The two incredibly optimistic children of Poseidon."

"Family trait," Rosie said, winking at him.

"Worth a shot," Annabeth said, shrugging. "At least you two will have something in common. We'll also need our best diplomat. Someone...who's good with words."

All eyes turned to Piper, who understandably looked like she wanted to vomit.

Piper sighed, signifying defeat. "Fine. Let me change, and then we can meet this cartoon character."


	22. Coach Hedge's Wrath

**radoddish- haha more reference to the movie in this chapter ;) side note, what's everyone's favorite Disney movie?**

**hoove-print-on-your-heart- you guys have been so incredibly patient, i appreciate it! i promise those answers are coming soon :)**

* * *

Everyone was worried.

Well, maybe, not everyone- Coach was currently singing his own version of '_We Didn't Start the Fire'. _Everyone else, however, was starting to worry about Piper and Jason's whereabouts.

Rosie and Leo had tried to lighten the mood, but even they couldn't get into it- their friends had disappeared from the shore where they met Hercules. She couldn't help but start to panic about Jason and Piper.

"They've been gone for almost three hours," Hazel said, staring intently at the beach.

Frank wrapped a supportive arm around her. "We should go look for them. Something is obviously wrong."

"No," Annabeth quickly cut in. "No search teams. Not...not yet. Just...wait." She stared at the beach intensely, as if she was studying it.

Waiting was hard to do. For a bunch of demigods with ADHD, it was _really _hard to do.

"We should be out there," Percy seemed to be getting into the habit of complaining about being a Poseidon kid to Rosie. She didn't mind it, considering she had _a lot _of complaints about it. "This is our realm, you know it?"

"Not necessarily a good thing," She reminded him.

He gave her a weak smile. "Sometimes, the water is a good thing."

"Sometimes, it's fine not doing anything."

"Sometimes, you can kick butt being a leader."

She gave him a smile. The two of them were still pretty fundamentally different, but they were working on it. "Agree to disagree." She was often fine letting Percy or Jason or Annabeth take the lead.

Coach's rendition of _We Didn't Start the Fire_ stopped abruptly, as he let out an aggravated groan. Percy and Rosie simultaneously turned to Coach.

"Chase!" he exclaimed, angrily walking over to where Annabeth was standing with Frank and Hazel. "I have a word for you!"

Annabeth blinked, confused. "Uh, Coach-"

"This is unacceptable!" Coach waved his arms around wildly.

"Oh no," Percy muttered, walking towards the commotion. After hesitating, Rosie followed him.

"Coach," Annabeth said slowly. "If you could just calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down! I'm a satyr! I have a responsibility, I'm the one who's supposed to protect-"

"What?" Annabeth sputtered out, an extremely confused look on her face.

"I shouldn't just have let Grace and McLean leave! Pan's Pipes, if anything were to happen to them-" he broke off with a panicked look.

"Oh," Rosie muttered to herself, seeing where this was going.

"Coach, it's okay," Percy reassured him. "Jason and Piper are fine-"

"I have a responsibility to them, the four of them-"

"Who?" Hazel piped in.

Leo appeared at Rosie's side with an half-eaten apple in his hand. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Coach cares about us," Rosie said, feeling giddy thanks to the old goat.

Coach glowered at her and Leo. "You two! You know what I think about you two?! You two have been giving me angina-"

"Definitely not from the metal you eat," Leo said, taking a bite out of his apple.

"I'm speaking, Valdez! _You_ decided to go MIA and hang out with fish-centuars! And _you_, Reiger," he spat. "Nearly drowned! You know how hard that makes my job?!"

Rosie leaned over to Leo, smiling. "He totally loves us."

"I do not, and I'm highly offended you would even think that!"

Leo spread his arms out for a hug. "Coach, it's alright, let's hug it out-"

"No!' Coach crossed his arms, glowering at them. "It's time I take back my ship!"

Leo choked on his apple. "_Your _ship?"

"You two are on ship arrest!"

"What?" Rosie asked. "Is that a real thing?"

"Enough out of you, Reiger! Ship arrest!" he bellowed. "You two are never going to leave this ship again, not if I can help it!"

Percy and Annabeth looked like they were stifling laughter.

"Like, _never_?" Leo asked with his eyebrows raised. "Rosie and I are just going to live out the rest of our days on this ship?"

Rosie nodded thoughtfully at this. "I suppose we could make it a bit homier around here."

"Yeah, maybe I can finally install the trampoline I've been talking about!"

Coach stomped his foot. "You two! Below deck, NOW!"

"Coach come on-"

"Or else drop and give me FIFTY!"

"Okay, okay!" Rosie held her hands up in surrender. "We're going."

"A little trigger happy," Leo muttered, following Rosie beneath deck.

* * *

"If ship arrest means free frosting, I think I'm okay with it," Leo said as he dunked his spoon back into the frosting bowl.

With a sigh of aggravation, Rosie moved the bowl of frosting out of Leo's reach. Because of Coach's "ship arrest", Leo and Rosie were confined to the lower deck of _Argo II_. She decided to make the most of it- the two were currently in the kitchen making Jason's birthday cake as Elton John blared in the background. She was secretly pretty happy about their ship arrest- she didn't mind so much hanging out with Leo.

"Stop eating the frosting!"

"Can't help it- gotta eat the pre-made stuff." Leo shot a nervous look at the fresh-out-of-the-oven cake Rosie was inspecting. "I don't think that poor cake stands a chance."

Rosie shot him a pleading look. "Don't tell me that!" Piper had specifically told her to wait for her to come back so they could make the cake together- and yet, here she was, blatantly ignoring what she said and making the cake anyway.

"Freckles, come on, look at the cake!"

Leo was right; the cake was..._frumpy_. It didn't quite look right. Baking was definitely not a strong suit of hers. She was hoping she could mask it with lots of frosting and sprinkles.

"Okay, so it looks disgusting. Lie for me?"

Leo nodded. "That cake is the greatest thing I've ever laid eyes on."

Rosie grinned. "Keep flattering."

"Other cakes are jealous of this cake."

Rosie smirked, layering vanilla frosting on top of the cake. "Look at you making up crap for me."

"Anything for my ship arrest buddy."

"I always knew Coach was an old softie deep down."

A low knock came at the kitchen door, and Rosie eagerly handed her spatula to Leo, heading towards the door. She opened it a crack, where Percy was standing there with a smirk.

"Have you completed your oh-so-top-secret mission?" She asked him in a dramatic tone.

He snorted, holding out the bottle of sprinkles. "Is there a reason you keep a bottle of sprinkles in your room?"

"I like to be prepared in all situations."

When Percy had stopped in the kitchen for a snack, Rosie and Leo had recruited him for a super secret mission of getting sprinkles from Rosie's cabin. Neither of them were too sure about the limits of their "ship arrest", but neither of them wanted to test Coach at the moment. Hence the need for Percy.

"Well, here are the sprinkles." He handed her the small jar. "I'm a little disappointed that they're not all blue, but I guess since it's not my birthday, I can't complain."

Rosie wrinkled her nose. "I've been meaning to ask, what's with you and blue foods? Is it some weird superstitious thing?"

Percy shook his head at her, smiling. "You're not going to ruin blue foods for me."

Rosie made a noise of shock. "I wasn't trying to!"

"She totally was," Leo yelled from the background.

"Keep frosting!" she yelled angrily at Leo.

Percy frowned. "What are you guys listening to?" he asked, leaning into the kitchen.

She blinked at him. "You don't know Elton John?"

"No, never heard of him. Should I know him?"

"Tell me you're kidding," she pleaded.

Percy shrugged. "Sorry, Ro."

"You are not my brother."

"Teach me, Master," Percy said in a joking tone.

"You are not ready," Rosie told him, shaking her head.

"I can become a fan of this John Elton-"

Rosie made a noise of outrage, slamming the door in his face, hearing Percy's laugh behind it.

She turned around to see Leo smiling as he silently frosted the cake.

"What?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Nothing. It's just nice to see you two getting along."

She smiled to herself. "Yeah. It's been a while since I had a sibling…" she trailed off. "Anyways, we need to frost lettering on the top of cake. I'm thinking- wait for it- 'Happy Birthday Jason'."

"Revolutionary."

As Leo insisted on stenciling the letters himself, Rosie began cleaning up the mess they made. She was at the sink, washing her hands when she noticed the water shimmering. Slowly, an image of Piper and Jason began to form.

"Rosie?"

Rosie jumped, nearly knocking over the dish soap. "_Jesus_, guys, you gave me a heart attack! Where are you; are you alright?"

"Listen," Piper pleaded. "We don't have much time. He's going to be angry."

"Wait? Who's going to be angry, Hercules? What do you guys do?"

"Just listen! Is Leo there with you?"

"Freckles, why are you talking to the sink?" Leo appeared at her shoulder. "Oh, hey, guys! You will not believe what Coach did-"

"Leo," Jason cut in. "You need to get the ship ready for flight."

"Um, why?"

"Hercules is going to try to kill us, okay?!" Piper exclaimed angrily.

"Are you telling me he didn't sing songs with his best friend Pegasus?"

Rosie laughed. "I'm guessing he's more zero than hero."

"Guys! This isn't some dumb Disney movie."

Rosie gasped. "Did you just call Disney dumb-"

"Hercules sent us on this dumbass task to get Achelous' horn, and we have it, but I'm not going to give it to him." Piper flourished what appeared to be a cornucopia at them.

"You're not?" Rosie winced. "Yikes, he's going to be mad."

Piper sighed, aggravated. "Which is why you guys have to get the ship ready!"

"We are on ship arrest," Leo said thoughtfully.

"What?" Jason asked, confused.

"Nothing," Rosie quickly answered. "We'll get the ship ready!"

The image dissolved.

Rosie looked at Leo. "So, I guess we're off ship arrest."

Leo clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Let's go!"

Rosie began walking towards the kitchen door, eager to get out and leaving the baking behind. "Hey, remember to put the cake in the fridge-" She stopped short, turning around and smacking right into Leo, who was holding the cake.

_SPLAT. _

The cake was on the ground, scattered into pieces .

"_Ah!" _Rosie screamed, sounding like someone was just stabbed right in front of her.

"Five second rule!" Leo quickly exclaimed, scooping up the cake.

"My ugly cake!"

"Hap...Irthday...Jas….that still sounds okay, right?" Leo said, wincing as he read the broken cake.

"Oh my god," Rosie muttered, closing her eyes, feeling nauseous.

"This stays between the two of us."

Coach let them back on deck- barely. He seemed to only allow it _because _it could save Jason and Piper. Leo put the ship into aerial mode, and the rest of them nervously paced the deck, waiting for them to appear.

"This better not be a trick from you two," Coach grumbled, shooting them looks.

"It's not, Coach," Rosie assured him. "They did something to piss off Hercules."

Percy sighed longing. "Man, what I would give to piss off a god again."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him. "You really can't stand not doing anything, can you?"

Percy smiled at her, grabbing her hand. "You know me so well."

"Here they come!" Frank shouted from where he was leaning over the railing. "Did they _bury_ Hercules?"

Sure enough, if she squinted, she could see Hercules' head pop out of what appeared to be a pile of fruit and veggies.

"Oh, man," she muttered. "Piper has a new toy."

Jason and Piper flew towards the ship, landing with a thud. Piper was holding a cornucopia in her hands like any second, it was going to explode.

"Go!" Piper screamed, nervously glancing back at Hercules.

The oars creaked as Jason summoned a wind, pushing the ship into the sky. Rosie dodged a coconut thrown from the island, summoning a wave to knock down Hercules.

The _Argo II_ flew through the clouds, heading into the depths of the Mediterranean.


	23. When the Fog Finally Clears

**SEASBLU- haha you're hilarious!**

**radoddish- ooh yes i love Coco! 2019 aladdin is very cute as well**

* * *

The ancient lands were apparently even worse than the Romans made them out to be. Once they got past Hercules, the attacks seemed to follow them around. They couldn't catch a break. As night fell and a freezing fog arose, one happened every few hours, making them exhausted.

Rosie stayed up with Jason and Percy, the three of them switching off when it came to attacks. Together, they fought off wind spirits and Stymphalian birds, each attack depleting their energy a little more.

"I-I can't anymore," Percy sputtered at one point. "I'm sorry. I-I need rest."

Jason nodded wearily. "Go ahead. I can take care of these for a while."

As soon as Percy left, Jason turned to Rosie. "You should go too. Get some sleep- these are aerial attacks, anyways."

"I'm fine, Jason." She wasn't- she was exhausted, but there was no way she was going to let Jason field these attacks by himself.

Jason shot her a small smile. "Will you ever listen to me?"

She thought about it for a second, slightly shivering. "Probably not, no."

"I figured."

Something was off with him- she could tell. He had been unusually silent lately. She didn't know whether it was because of Charleston or Hercules or...maybe something else. "You alright? Forgive the pun but you don't seem as electric as you normally are."

He shrugged. "Yeah. I'm fine." He ran a hand through his blond hair. "It's...I don't know."

"You know, it's not good to keep things in," she said knowingly.

"Pot, meet kettle."

"Ha ha."

"Achelous…" he trailed off. "He tried drowning me. It..I was...I couldn't remember the last time I was that scared."

Rosie shifted uncomfortably. That...that she could understand. "I'm sorry."

"For a second," he admitted, "I almost stopped fighting. I...the water was just so _strong_ and I...I felt so...so.."

"Helpless," she whispered softly.

Jason nodded. "Helpless."

"I sometimes feel that way all the time." She truly did- sometimes she wondered why they were bothering with the quest, the prophecy if the outcome was already laid out. That terrified her.

When it came to the gods, all she felt was helpless.

Jason sighed. "Yeah. Me too."

"Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday."

He smiled weakly. "Thank you, Rosie. The best thing you could give me would be getting some sleep."

She finally relented. "You got it, Sparky."

She left Jason on deck, wearily walking down towards the cabins. She found Piper sitting in the hallway outside her door, staring at the duck socks on her feet.

"They aren't real, you know," Rosie said jokingly, sitting down next to her. She curled her legs up to her chest.

"Can't sleep."

"Seems to be a trend on the ship."

"Yeah," Piper muttered, not quite present in the conversation. Her eyes looked glazed over.

"Jason, uh, told me about Achelous."

Piper laughed humorlessly. "Did he tell you about Hercules?"

"Um...no. Not really."

"Hercules...is a _complete _jerk," Piper muttered angrily. "He went on and on about how I should be careful dating a son of Jupiter, how I'm going to regret it, like Jason is just going to _snap_ and become some raging murderer, some bitter person like him-"

"You're hearing the ridiculousness of your words, right?"

"Rosie."

"Right. Sorry. It's just we've been over this. Jason isn't that kind of person."

"Is that for sure, though? I mean, Jason says he's not proud of the person he was, back at Camp Jupiter...isn't he still that person, deep down?"

"_Piper_," Rosie scowled. "Come on."

"What?"

Rosie shook her head. "Just stop. Stop trying to find reasons for your relationship to fail."

Her face soured. "That's not what I'm doing."

"Really? Because it sounds like it."

Piper stood. "Whatever. Sorry for _bugging _you."

"Sorry if analyzing Jason's every move isn't my priority right now." The poor guy had enough going on.

Piper glared at her. "That was uncalled for."

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm exhausted, you're exhausted, let's just get some sleep."

"Fine by me," Pipe said, slamming her door behind her.

Rosie sighed, placing her head in her hands. What had just happened?

* * *

_There was nothing in front of her except a jar. She walked up to the jar, peering inside. There was a boy there, a boy she didn't recognize-it must be Nico diAngelo. _

_She wanted to help him somehow- she had no idea how she could. The jar's top was barely big enough to stick her hand in it._

_Slowly, Nico's image began to morph. He became smaller, with lighter hair and different eyes. He morphed into Max, making Rosie shudder. _

"_They've almost landed, you know."_

"_Bah, who cares? They'll never make it in time."_

_Rosie heard these voices, voices she had never heard before. She wondered if it was possibly Otis and Ephialtes, the two giants who kidnapped Nico._

"_I can feel Mother Earth rumbling beneath us."_

"_She's stirring- she can hardly wait for what the demigods will find in Rome."_

_Rosie couldn't help but shudder violently._

"_Her Ladyship is especially excited to see the Athenian girl."_

"_Ah, yes. The one who's going to derail their little quest."_

_They were talking about Annabeth- what did they mean? And was the Ladyship Gaea, or someone else?_

"_And the sacrifice? Are her orders still the same?"_

"_Of course- Mother Earth has her preferences."_

"_Is there a reason she's so...fond of Poseidon children?"_

_No- god, no._

"_You don't know?"_

"_No, brother."_

"_Call it an old grudge, I guess."_

"_Those two are powerful- Percy Jackson and Rosemary Reiger."_

"_She insists on the girl, doesn't she?" The giant sounded excited, almost. _

"_Of course- you saw what she did in Charleston. She destroys the earth- she could rival Mother Earth."_

_She didn't want to be hearing this anymore. God, please let her wake. Please wake up._

"_It's not like she doesn't have a choice."_

"_True-should she decide to turn herself in, it could prevent the blood of her friends being spilled. Mother Earth will use her as long as she sees fit, as long as the girl has purpose."_

"_And if she doesn't, brother?"_

"_She must die. I expect she'll want to turn herself in after Rome- her friends will think she's a monster. She could kill them all."_

_Rosie felt herself start to heave, what was she going to do in Rome?_

"_Either way...Rosemary Reiger will die."_

She woke up, screaming and thrashing in her bed, tears on her cheek.

It made sense to her now. _Of course _Gaea was out for her. Gaea was Mother Earth- Rosie could destroy the earth.

In a way, Gaea was here to finish what she started. She had wanted Max, and stupidly, her father had granted Gaea's wish- how did that make _sense_?

She wanted off this death mission- she was _scared_. Was this what Hera was talking about? Rosie's decision? She remembered her words: _destroy yourself or destroy your friends. _How was she supposed to choose? She couldn't stop sobbing, hearing the giants voices in her head. Oh god, oh, god-

"Rosie?" The door opened, and Leo popped his head in, the concern on his face clear even through the dim lighting. "Rosie, what happened? I heard you screaming."

"Nothing," she cried, holding her legs to her chest, tears clouding her vision. "Nothing, Leo, it was just a nightmare. Go away."

"Freckles, come on."

Rosie cried harder, Leo stepping forward in fear. "I can't talk about it Leo. God, it's awful, it's _so awful_-"

"Freckles." He sat down on the edge of her bed. "Talk to me."

She shook her head tightly, unable to form words. She wished Leo would go away, allow her to be alone. The last thing she wanted to do was try to convince a friend that she was fine.

"I, like you, am extremely stubborn. I'm pretty sure I could sit here forever."

She wiped her cheek with the palm of her hand. "I...I don't want to talk about it. I can't-" she broke off with a hushed sob. She didn't want to tell Leo that she was most likely going to die, along with the fact that she may kill everyone.

Leo stood up, holding out a hand. "Come on- come with me."

"No, Leo. Go back to bed."

"Funny that you think I've slept since the Shrimpzilla attack."

"That wasn't your fault," she shrugged weakly, her voice low.

"Please come with me."

She finally relented, grabbing his hand and following him out into the hallway.

He led her to the engine room, a room she had only managed to be in a few times. She knew Leo was fond of it, often crashing there when he was a normal human being who needed sleep to function.

The only way she could think to describe it was a concrete jungle, pipes and tubes snaking around.

"You come here a lot, don't you?" She asked him, leaning against one of the tubes.

He nodded. "It helps me think. I...my cabin's too silent. It reminds me of stuff...I don't know, stuff I'd rather not think about."

She nodded. "I get it." The constant hum of the engine room was kind of soothing- it had a heartbeat.

Leo produced something, something she couldn't quite make out in the light at first. "Time for you to get your mind off the nightmares. Only one way to do that."

Rosie could see the object clearly now: it was a radio. She shook her head softly. "I don't want to dance."

"If I remember correctly, a persistent freckled girl once came into the Bunker and threatened me to dance or _else_. Time to repay that favor, Reiger."

She couldn't help but smile. Thank god Leo was there to call her out on things. Be the friend she truly needed. He was solid- a constant she could rely on. Everyone should be so lucky to have that kind of person in their lives. She had found hers.

Rosie let go of the nightmare, grabbing his hand. Leo drew her closer, close enough that she could see his golden brown eyes. He could probably count the freckles on her nose, see the different shades of blue in her eyes.

A song she already knew by heart came on, bringing a smile to her face. The two of them slowly began to sway around the Engine room, _Satellite _by the _Dave Matthews band_ starting to softly move throughout the room. It wasn't anything fancy; occasionally, Leo would twirl her around. She could forget about the burden on her heart, if only for a little while.

However, it was still in the back of her mind, a thought reminding her of the news she learned: _I'm going to miss him so much._

"Good song," Leo said with a gentle smile on his face, as he gently spun Rosie around.

She returned his smile warmly, looking into his eyes. "I know, right?" She whispered.

Suddenly, the ship was gone, as she was transported back into a different time of her life.

_The desert night was so cold, but with the blankets and Leo at her side, she wasn't so cold on the Wilderness roof._

"_I so wish Pipes could see this," she said, glancing up at the sky in amazement. The meteors had shot across the sky, leaving colorful streaks behind,_

"_I don't."_

"_Leo!"_

"_She has strep!"_

"_Okay, well...that's fair," she admitted. "She's all pouty and gross in our room."_

_Leo made a disgusted face as he moved closer to Rosie, making Rosie secretly thrilled._

"_Gotta say, Freckles," he said, looking around at the roof they snuck onto. "This is one of your greatest masterpieces."_

_She grinned. "I know."_

"_And if we get caught...?"_

_She smirked at him. "Oh, I will MacGuyver my way out of it."_

_Leo laughed. _

"_So..." There was something about that night. "We gonna dance or what?"_

_He raised his eyebrows. "With no music? Come on, Freckles, you're better than that."_

_With a triumphant grin, she whipped back one of the blankets, revealing a radio._

_Leo's mouth dropped. "Shoplifter."_

_She shook her head at him. "Thrifty...you going to dance with me or not, Valdez?"_

"_On a rooftop. With my best friend. Sounds dangerous."_

"_I'm a dangerous girl, Valdez."_

"_Heck if I don't know it."_

_Leo stood, offering her his hand. They slow danced for a few steps to Satellite by Dave Matthews Band._

"_Good song," Leo said appreciatively._

"_I know, right?"_

_Rosie looked at her best friend in the moonlight, and it was like she saw him for the first time. Not Leo, her scrawny, short, incredibly annoying best friend. It was different. The way he was looking at her- she never had anyone look at her like that._

"_Leo?"_

"_Yeah, Freckles?" He whispered._

_She leaned in and kissed him._


	24. World's Worst Older Brother

**radoddish- haha i approve of that reference! loveee the elton john cover of that song (yall can probably tell i'm a fan of him from how much i mention him in the story haha)**

**SwedishMerlinFan- omg stop that comment made MY day! i'm so glad you're enjoying this story, thank you!**

**SEASBLU- YAYYY i am so so happy you ship it! **

**Guest- awww thank you so much :D**

**thanks so much for the comments guys, i love hearing from you!**

* * *

She was violently jerked back into this existence, Leo steadying her as she stumbled, her entire world spinning.

"Whoa," he laughed, grabbing her shoulders. "Maybe we were a little too ambitious with those dips. We'll get 'em next time."

_Shit. Shit shit shit-_

"Did- did you just see that?"

What just happened? She had to have imagined that, right? There was no way- _absolutely no way_\- she had ever kissed Leo. No fucking way.

She was sleep deprived. Seeing things. That nightmare had messed with her more than she let on. A list of excuses flew through her head, all rationalizing what she just saw.

Leo tilted his head in confusion. "Saw what? That epic fail?"

She felt her heart start to pound. She couldn't get the image of her kissing Leo out of her head- it kept playing over and over, like a record player stuck on repeat.

"I...I-" she broke off, dazed. "I have to go." She quickly let go of Leo, backing into the wall.

Leo frowned, looking a little heartbroken. "Oh. Okay. Did I...do something?"

"No. Not at all- I-Um- tired. Tired is a thing I am." Words, Rosie. She tripped over her feet, walking to the door. "I...I should go help Jason- _jesus_, it's like four in the morning isn't it?"

"Rosie-"

"_Ihavetogo_," she stumbled the words out in a rush as she sped out, feeling a wave of confusion wash over her.

That wasn't her memory- it couldn't be. She distinctly remembered Piper telling her the story of her and Jason on the roof, kissing under the stars.

_But Jason wasn't there_, she reminded herself. _Hera made that up_.

She was tired- exhaustion could lead to seeing some weird things. She was going to keep telling herself that.

Annabeth and Percy were on deck, staring out into the foggy night.

"Hi," she said to them, quickly grabbing onto the railing, feeling like she might vomit.

Percy raised his eyebrows at her. "You good?"

"Wonderful." In reality, she felt her world crumbling- she just got _way too much_ information to process, information she didn't even understand.

"You don't look so good," Annabeth commented, peering at Rosie intently.

Leo sullenly appeared out of the corner of her eye, heading back to the helm.

"Gee, thanks," she said flatly, avoiding Leo's eyes.

"I'm just saying-"

Percy suddenly stood up straightener, his face coated in fear. He was squinting into the fog. "Stop- we have to stop."

"What?" Rosie asked, confused by the sudden turn of events.

"Percy, why?" Annabeth asked, grabbing his arm.

"Leo, STOP!" He yelled.

"_Shit_!" She heard Leo yell.

A boat appeared out of nowhere, emerging out of the fog, ramming into the _Argo II._ Rosie's entire body shook as she held onto the railing to prevent going overboard.

There were warriors on the other ship- they weren't human, were they?

Festus roared fire, sending some of the warriors screaming into the sea. This didn't discourage them, however- before Rosie could even react, they were on the ship.

They were _everywhere-_ figures emerging out of the fog, grabbing onto her before she could react. They definitely weren't human- no, they looked more like dolphins. They grabbed her roughly. She tried fighting- the word _Stop _was trapped in her throat- but they easily took her over with their strength. She let them overtake her.

Leo ran over to the alarm, sounding it quickly in attempts to warn the others. He tried to reach the ballista, but went down with a yelp as a warrior tackled him from behind.

"_Rosie_!" She heard Percy call out her name.

She couldn't answer, for the warriors gagged her mouth, bounding her hands behind her back. She felt a hand shove her from behind, as she fell on the deck. A scream came muffled from her mouth as she saw a half-conscious Leo being dragged across deck. Two of the dolphin warriors pressed up their spear tips to her neck, ready to pierce her skin.

Percy and Annabeth were trying their best to subdue the enemy- but there were _so many _of them. She heard cabin doors beneath her being broken down, the sounds of her friends scuffling with the enemy. She could've sworn she heard Jason yell, "_Stop!_"

Her eyes were stinging with tears, blurring her vision.

The group of warriors parted, a human walking forward. He was dressed head to toe in armor, everything he wore adorned in gold. Even his sword, one that looked like Percy's, was gold. Rosie glanced at his helmet covering the majority of his face, shuddering as she saw the gorgon's head it was made out to look like.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded, holding his sword out. If he was scared, he didn't show it- how was he so _brave_? "Get off our ship!"

As quick as a blink, the golden warrior struck, sending Percy's sword into the sea. Percy blinked, beyond shocked at what just happened.

"Brother," he grinned at Percy. His eyes landed on Rosie. "Sister- always a pleasure to rob a ship of my siblings. I am Chrysaor, the Golden Sword. As for what I want…" he shrugged. "That's easy- I want everything."

Percy and Annabeth were surrounded by warriors, unable to do anything. They all watched, helpless, as warriors began to ransack their ship.

A warrior emerged from below, carrying a box of Greek Fire.

"Be careful with that," Annabeth snarled at him. "You could destroy both of our ships!"

"You stupid girl," Chrysaor said, laughing. "Of course we know about Greek Fire- we've been looting ships on the Mare Nostrum for eons, after all."

"You...you sound familiar," Percy noted. "Have we maybe met?"

"I do not believe we've had the pleasure, brother. But trust me, you two are all the rage. The hero Percy Jackson and his sidekick Annabeth Chase." Chrysaor glanced at Rosie. "You've also made quite a name for yourself, haven't you, Rosemary?"

The past few hours had been too much for her- she felt _shattered_.

"I'm nobody's sidekick," Annabeth glowered fiercely. "Percy, he sounds familiar because we killed his mother in New Jersey…"

Great- so he had a grudge.

Percy's eyes lit up with realization. "Oh god- Medusa's your mother? Dude, that _sucks_."

God- her dad had hooked up with the snake lady?

Chrysaor looked displeased. "You are quite arrogant, brother- just like the first Perseus. But yes- Poseidon was my father and Medusa my mother. After Medusa was changed into a monster by the so-called wisdom goddess…" he took a second to glare at Annabeth. "Your mother, I believe. Medusa's two children were trapped inside her, unable to be born. When the original Perseus cut off Medusa's head-"

"Two children sprung out," Annabeth finished. "Pegasus and you."

Percy and Rosie exchanged weirded out looks.

"So that makes all the flying horses in the world our...actually, let's not get into it," Percy winced. Rosie nodded silently in agreement. "How come I haven't heard of you if you're Medusa's kid?"

Chrysaor sighed bitterly. "When your brother is a winged horse, you get used to being forgotten. Does anyone care about me? Nooo." He quickly produced his sword under Percy's chin. "Don't underestimate me, however. My name means Golden Sword for a reason."

"Imperial gold?" Percy suggested.

"_Enchanted gold_. Later on, those Romans called it Imperial gold, but I was the first ever to wield such a weapon. I _should've _been the most famous hero of all times! Alas, I am considered a villain. So, I decided to put my heritage to use. I would inspire terror and rule the seas!"

"So, you basically became a pirate," Annabeth said flatly.

"The most amazing pirate, yes, girl," he spat. "I've sailed these waters for centuries, waylaying any demigods foolish enough to explore the Mare Nostrum. This is my territory now." He sighed, glancing at this sword. "Of course, this is my _second _sword- some stupid demigod took my first one."

A noise of scuffle came, one of the dolphin warriors dragging up Coach from below. Coach was attempting to kick the warrior with one of his hooves.

"Let me go, you tuna fish!" Coach growled. Rosie wanted to beam at the several hoof-shaped prints already on the warrior. She really loved that goat.

"Hello, Fine satyr," Chrysaor grinned. "A little old, but I suppose Cyclopes will pay well for him. Chain him up."

"Over my dead body will I be someone's goat meat!"

"Gag him, as well," Chrysaor rolled his eyes at Coach and then Rosie. "Those two seem annoying."

"Why you little-" Coach's insult was cut off as they gagged him. They dumped him with the other loot- food, weapons. With a shock, Rosie realized they had Max's rubix cube- no. There was no way in _hell_ she was allowing them to take that.

"Stop this!" Annabeth yelled.

Chrysaor laughed, only his grin being visible. "My warriors are trained to kill. They are vicious, cutthroat-"

"_Dolphins_," Percy hissed.

"So? They had a bit of bad luck a few millennia ago, kidnapping the wrong person. Some of them turned completely into dolphins, others went mad. I found these hybrid ones under the sea and offered them a lifetime of work as my loyal crew. They fear _nothing_."

One of the dolphins squealed nervously.

"Okay, so they fear two things. Doesn't matter- neither of them are here."

The door to down below opened up, the rest of the dolphin warriors dragging up her friends. Jason was unconscious, giving Rosie a huge inappropriate urge to laugh. Of course he was unconscious- he had most definitely tried to take the dolphins head-on. Hazel and Piper were both bound and gagged, being placed next to Rosie. Piper's eyes went wide with fear and yet relief seeing Rosie. Rosie noticed that Frank was missing- and were those bee stings on some of the dolphins? If Frank Zhang was on this ship unharmed somewhere, she would definitely try to cut back on some of her insults towards him. Not all of them, obviously.

Chrysaor waved Jason away. "He is no use to me. I can't touch Ms. Chase, however- she has a further destiny in Rome. Those two-" he pointed to Piper and Hazel. "Circe will buy the women- maybe as slaves, maybe trainees. Not Rosemary, though."

Rosie felt chills crawl up her spine.

"You are not taking her _anywhere_," Percy growled protectively.

Although her heart felt like bursting with appreciation, she wanted him to stop- if he knew the dream she had...

The warrior tutted. "My siblings, you two are spoken for. We are quite popular-a certain goddess is paying a very high bounty for your captures- alive, if at all possible. Although, she didn't say you _had _to be unharmed."

Piper suddenly wailed so loudly Rosie could hear it through her gag. She fainted dramatically, knocking the nearest dolphin over. Rosie and Hazel exchanged looks, not quite sure what was going on but following Piper's lead, screaming and thrashing around.

Percy took this moment of distraction as an opportunity to fight Chrysaor- his sword had reappeared in his pocket. They watched Percy fight him. Percy was _good_, but Chrysaor was on another level. Her stomach was doing jumping jacks watching the two of them spar.

Chrysaor anticipated one of Percy's moves, knocking the sword out of his hand once again. He pressed his sword up against Percy's throat. "Good try, brother. But now I'm afraid you'll be chained and transported to Gaea's minions. They are quite eager to spill your blood and to wake her."

Rosie suddenly spotted Frank, nearly 6'3" Frank hidden behind a ballista, cautiously peeking out. Despite everything with him, she wanted to give him a big hug. This was an Emily Zhang move- aka _badass._

Percy must've seen him as well. "Okay!" Percy shouted, shrugging nonchalantly. "Take me and Rosie away, if our captain lets you."

Chrysaor paused. "Captain? My men searched the ship- there is no captain on board."

Percy raised his hands, swaying dramatically. "The god appears only when he wishes to! He is our leader, one we are eternally grateful for. He runs our camp for demigods. Right, Annabeth?"

Annabeth quickly smiled, nodding. "Yes! Mr. D! The great Dionysius!"

Rosie watched Percy in awe. Her brother was clever- really clever.

"Stand fast!" Chrysaor bellowed uneasily. "They are only trying to scare us."

"You should be scared!" Percy exclaimed. "Dionysius will be severely cranky with you for having delayed our voyage. Didn't you notice the girls falling into the wine God's madness?"

Percy coughed and stared at the three of them pointedly. After a brief pause, the three of them started thrashing around again like fish. The dolphins backed away nervously.

"Fakers!" Chrysaor roared. "Shut up, Jackson. Dionysius, your director, is not here. He was recalled to Olympus."

"So you admit he's our director!" Percy roared back.

"He _was_," Chrysaor claimed. "Everyone knows that."

Percy gestured at the golden warrior with shock. "You see? We are DOOMED! Let me refer to the ice chest!"

Percy stormed over to their magical cooler, the one the dolphin warriors had ransacked. He knocked open the lid, rummaging through the ice. He pulled out a red can of soda, brandishing it wildly. Rosie was grateful her gag muffled her laugh.

"Behold!" Percy emphasized. "The god's chosen beverage! Tremble before the horrifying bottle of Diet Coke!"

Rosie could tell the dolphin men were believing him- ready to retreat at any second.

"The god will take your ship," Percy warned them. "He will finish your transformation into dolphins, or make you insane, or...do BOTH! Your only hope is to swim away now!"

"Stop!" Chrysaor yelled.

"Save yourselves!" Percy choked out dramatically. "It's too late for us!"

Percy gasped dramatically, pointing to where Frank was hiding. "Oh, no! Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

Nothing happened. Rosie silently cursed Frank's ability to be on cue.

"I _said_," Percy repeated louder, rolling his eyes slightly. "Frank is turning into a crazy dolphin!"

Frank suddenly stumbled out of nowhere, slightly sighing. "Oh no," he said in a monotone voice. "It appears I am turning into a crazy dolphin."

Frank began to change form, his nose elongating and his skin becoming sleek and grey. He fell to the deck as a dolphin, thumping his tail erratically.

The dolphin warriors broke out into the panic, dropping their weapons and jumping overboard. Annabeth moved quickly, freeing Rosie, Piper, Hazel, and Coach.

Chrysaor was surrounded by them, apparently quickly realizing his poor odds.

He growled at Percy. "This isn't over, brother-"

His words were cut short as Frank, who had turned into a grizzly bear, knocked into Chrysaor, sending him overboard. They all quickly ran to the railing, aware that the man had disappeared.

"That was _epic_," Rosie told Percy, giving him a high five.

"Desperate," he corrected. "But thanks. We need to get rid of his ship."

"Burn it?" Annabeth suggested with a grin.

Percy shook his head, holding up the coke bottle. "I've got a better idea."

Leo was upset.

"Dolphin men? Dionysius? _Dolphin Frank_?" He moaned. "Man, I can't believe I missed that."

Piper handed him some nectar. "Drink this."

Rosie cautiously kept her distance from Leo. She was still on shaky ground from that memory. Did Leo really not remember? Did it actually happen? What else had Hera erased? Was Rosie missing something? It was too much to think about.

Leo looked at her. "Did I at least look at hero-y going down?"

Rosie nodded tightly, saying nothing. Leo's face fell, quickly concealed by the cup of nectar.

She walked over to Jason, who thankfully looked worse than he actually was. "How are you?"

He shrugged. "Fine."

"Truthfully?"

That was their friendship- no bullshit; straight up honesty. He sighed. "I can't believe I got overpowered so easily."

Rosie shrugged, handing him some ambrosia. "It's okay- I did too. Only difference is I'm not an idiot who fought back."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Jason's face. "You are incredibly annoying."

"So I've been told."

They let Coach go to town on the enemy ship, destroying everything with his bat. Percy then reloaded the enemy's weapons back on the ship. He found loads of treasure on their ship, but he insisted it go untouched.

"I can sense it being worth about six million dollars worth," Hazel said. "Plus diamonds, rubies-"

Frank choked "Six million? Canadian dollars or-"

"Who would want Canadian money?" Rosie teased him.

Frank glared at her.

"We'll leave the treasure," Percy said. "It's our tribute."

"Tribute?" Hazel asked.

"Oh!" Piper lit up. "Right- Kansas."

Jason smiled faintly. "I like it. Crazy- but I like it."

Leo eagerly drilled a few holes into the enemy ship. Piper, brandishing her new horn proudly, doused it with Diet Coke. They all cheered as the ship sunk into the sea.

"Dionysius," Percy called out. "Or Bacchus- Whatever. You made our victory possible, just by using your name. So...yeah, thanks." Percy looked like he was about to gag. "We give this ship to you as tribute. We hope it pleases you."

Leo scoffed. "Six million in gold," he muttered. "He better like it."

"Shush," Hazel lightly scolded him. "Precious metal isn't all that great- trust me." Rosie peered at her thoughtfully- she wondered what that meant.

"Off to Rome?" Percy asked the group.

Annabeth looked terrified, but nodded. "Off to Rome."


	25. A City of Ghosts

Considering they had a few hours until the sun actually rose, they all managed to get a few more hours of sleep after Chrysaor.

That was, until Piper excitedly burst in her room. The two of them seemed to have forgotten about their little spat. After the dolphin attack, it didn't matter. After Rosie's dream, she _knew_ it didn't _matter_. "Rosie! We're descending over Rome! Come on, out of bed! You gotta see this!"

Rosie wasn't prepared for what she saw. The city of Rome literally took her breath away. She tried to take it all in at the same time, the beautiful glittering city beneath her. She felt enveloped by the enormity of it, uncentered by its beauty. The city spread through hills and valleys, streets and alleys. Beautiful cathedrals towered over the city, along with old stucco villas and traffic-clogged streets.

It was gorgeous- but it peeled away at her, brought up a feeling of pain and sadness. Her friends stood there, standing in awe, chattering excitedly and all wearing the birthday hats Piper made, as Rosie stood there blinking back tears. She quietly slipped away, heading to the kitchen.

Rosie took out Jason's cake, determined to fix it. He needed a perfect cake- people needed birthdays. She cried as she frosted it, scared of what was to come in Rome.

"Rosie?" Came a low voice, once that sounded like it had been crying.

She turned to see Jason standing there, eyes bloodshot and teary. Why had he been crying?

"You totally stole my hiding place," he said to her, blinking away some tears rapidly.

"Oh. Hi," she said, quickly turning back to the cake and brushing away some tears. "I'm just trying...I'm working on your cake. It's not everyday someone turns 16. Celebration- it calls for celebration."

"Were you crying?"

Was _he_ crying? "The city," she changed the subject. "The city is gorgeous."

"I know," he said, glancing down at the ground, his eyes glassy.

Rosie bit her lip, closing her eyes and praying that the tears would stop.

"Rosie?"

"Yeah?" She gritted out, quickly frosting again. Just keep working. Push it away. Don't feel.

"My friend Calla died," he blurted out.

"Um-"

"In Charleston." Jason sniffled, his voice becoming shaky with sobs.

"In Charleston," Rosie repeated, feeling like she shouldn't be wearing a party hat while having this conversation.

Jason took a shaky breath, leaning against the doorway. "It was four of us on that quest- me, Reyna, Calla, and...my friend Grant."

She waited patiently for him to continue.

"We were only supposed to be excavating Imperial Gold, Rosie...everything went _wrong_."

"Jason-" Maybe she shouldn't be the one hearing this. He didn't know how much she had learned in the past few hours. She felt it building up, and she wasn't sure how much she could take before she broke. She could already feel herself cracking.

"Calla was a daughter of Mars." He took a labored breath, trying to compose himself. "She tried reasoning with the soldiers, they weren't listening." He gulped. "I...she was stubborn. Like you...you remind me of her a lot. She refused to leave."

"We stole the gold...and the soldiers ...they took Calla as a hostage because of this. I-I made Reyna and Grant leave her behind. I said..." Jason broke off, tears forming in his eyes. "I was just trying to complete our quest. To do the...'right thing'."

Rosie couldn't stop crying. Jason's pain reminded her of her own. The tears kept flowing.

"They...they killed her."

"Jason," Rosie said, the cake in her hands long forgotten. She wished he had said something back at Charleston. "I don't know what to say."

Jason was like a ship anchored to a harbor, steady and stable and unmoving. Right now, he looked untethered, so untethered that a light breeze could blow him over, sending him out to sea. The strong former Roman praetor was gone, replaced by a shell of himself.

Oh, what the power of guilt could do. She recognized that, because she had stared guilt in the face before. The only question was if guilt would blink first or not...if it would consume you or not. She knew from his face that the guilt was winning, consuming him from the inside out.

"The worst...the worst part of the amnesia was remembering it all over again. What...what I caused." Tears slowly ran down his cheeks. "Reyna never looked at me the same after that, especially with whatever that ghost told her at the park. I was just the 'ruthless' Jason Grace."

"And Grant...I don't even know where he is now," he continued. "He could be dead for all I know. He left as soon as we got out of Charleston. He...he didn't want to associate with us anymore- didn't want to be Roman. He...he loved Calla. We-we all did."

He sighed. "_She _should be the one standing and looking at Rome right now. Calla looked up to me-admired me a lot. And I did that to her..." Jason looked away from her. "I got an omen before the quest- a bad one. I knew she was going to die, and I didn't stop it. I wasn't a friend- _at all_."

Jason suddenly had a determined look on his face. "In a way, I'm glad I'm considered an outlaw now. I can never go back...that part of me is...is _dead-_" he broke off bitterly. "In the past. I can never go back. I will _never_ go back." His voice was hollow, a reverent hush.

Rosie didn't feel like celebrating anymore.

"That part of me is..._gone_." Jason's voice went hollow. "Please don't tell Piper."

"Jason, I-"

"Please, Rosie. She's already scared that I could be a different person than who I am. I don't want to confuse her even more. I'm already confused as it is."

Rosie paused. She felt like a failure to her friends, like she didn't know how to comfort them anymore. She was failing them. "Jason?"

"Yes?"

"Leo and I dropped your cake the other day," she said, breaking down into a fit of tears, covering her face. She wanted to tell someone what had happened, but she _couldn't_, how could she verbalize that? It was too awful.

Jason laughed shakily. "It's okay. I won't tell the others."

"You don't have to have a piece of floor cake."

"I don't want a piece of floor cake."

"Okay."

So the two of them plastered smiles on their faces, as they stood on the deck of the _Argo II_, singing Happy Birthday to Jason and saying nothing as their friends (minus Leo) ate floor cake.

"We're setting down in that park," Leo announced as they were finishing eating. "Freckles, could you do your Mist thing?"

She was so out of it, it took her a second to realize he was talking to her. "Huh? Oh...yeah. Sure."

Leo shot her a weird look, as he turned back to the controls of the ship.

As soon as they landed, Jason pointed out a long brick wall to their right, one with notches in it. It looked like it had been meant for archers at some point.

"I think...I think that's the tomb of Scipios," he said.

Percy frowned. "Scipios, like Reyna's Pegasus?"

"No," Annabeth quickly answered. "They were a Roman noble family. This place...guys, it's amazing."

Jason nodded weakly. "I've always wanted to come here…"

Rosie knew the end of that thought- he just wanted to come here with his friends- Calla. Grant. Reyna. She repeated the names softly in her head. She reminded herself that Jason had this entire life before them, a life that still seemed like a giant question mark.

Hazel clapped her hands together, bringing the group back on task. "Plans?" She asked hopefully. "Nico has until sunset- maybe. And the entire city is supposedly going to get destroyed, so we should probably worry about that as well."

"Right." Percy shook himself out of his Rome daze. "Annabeth...did you zero in on the spot on your bronze map?"

She nodded. "Yes. It's on the Tiber River. I think I could find it, but I should-"

"Take me along," Percy finished, grinning. "Exactly."

Annabeth sighed. "Percy, it isn't-"

"Safe," He said, nodding. "One demigod walking through Rome alone. Right! I'll go with you as far to the Tiber. We can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god Tiberius. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then, you can go alone."

The two of them seemed to have a silent argument for a second.

"Fine," she finally said, turning to Hazel. "Hazel, do you think you can pinpoint Nico's location?"

Hazel blinked. "Um. Yes. Hopefully. I'll have to walk around the city. Frank, would you come?"

Frank beamed happily at Hazel. "Of course."

"And...Leo," she muttered. "You should probably come too. The fish centaurs told me we might need you for something mechanical."

"Got it," Leo said.

Frank's face fell, and Rosie was again left wondering what was up with those three. Not that she cared- she reminded herself, she didn't care.

Leo turned to her, pointing a finger gun at her. "You in?"

"No," she quickly answered. She didn't want to be around Leo right now. Not after what she saw. And...she knew something was going to happen in Rome, something she didn't want to face yet. The words _an oath to keep with a final breath _kept ruminating in her mind. "Um...no thanks. I'll stay here."

Jason jumped to her defense, nodding. "She can watch the ship with me and Piper."

Piper shot a confused look at Rosie. "Um...yeah. I'll, uh, see what my dagger can show me. Hazel, if you guys find Nico's location, don't go in alone. Come back and get us. It'll take all of us to fight the giants."

And a god, she thought miserably.

"Good," Percy said. "How about we meet back here at...when?"

"Three?" Jason suggested. "If something happens to change that, we'll iris-message."

Coach groaned. "I don't like this... Percy, Annabeth...no funny business, you hear?"

Rosie couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

"We'll be right back," Percy promised, the two of them disappearing from view as Leo lowered the gangplank.


	26. Piper's Pity Picnic

The three of them decided to have a picnic in the park. Rosie had wanted to call it 'Piper's pity Picnic', but Piper didn't seem too pleased with that idea.

Rosie and Jason had both been pretty silent during their little picnic, setting off some suspicion from Piper.

"Is something up with you two?" She asked suspiciously, shooting them both a look. "You both seem...jumpy."

"I'm fine," Rosie insisted, smiling tightly. She wanted to spill everything to her best friend, but she just felt so _lost_. She didn't want to freak Piper out or anything- that wouldn't be fair. Everyone had too much on their plates already.

Jason nodded. "I guess I'm just worrying about my driver's license test."

Rosie let out a soft laugh as Piper rolled her eyes.

Piper whacked his foot gently, looking at him with a soft look in her eyes. "Tell me what's going on in your head, Sparky."

He exchanged an uncomfortable look with Rosie. "Just...things."

Piper raised her eyebrows, waiting for more. "Like…?" She glanced over at Rosie suspiciously.

Rosie wished Piper knew. She wished she didn't push Jason. She wasn't sure how Piper would've reacted to how he felt like he didn't actually know who he was, how he was _failing_, how his past failures were haunting him. How all he could see in the city of Rome were the ghosts of his past mistakes.

"Hercules was a jerk," Jason muttered, a faraway look in his eyes as he slightly changed the subject. "I didn't do anything there, Piper. You were the hero."

"We'll take turns," Piper suggested with a smile.

"I don't deserve you."

Rosie's heart broke as she quickly looked off into the distance, not wanting to see either of their faces. Piper didn't know- she didn't know about the guilt Jason felt, what he was referring to when he said this.

Rosie was upset on Jason's behalf- she hated how he could believe for a second that he didn't deserve good things. She knew with certainty that Jason Grace was a good person- she just didn't know how to convey that to him, so he could believe it too.

"You're not allowed to say that," Piper said. Rosie agreed with that, but was also slightly uncomfortable that she was here for this talk.

"Guys, I'm thinking this is maybe a conversation I shouldn't be here for-"

"Why not?" Jason asked Piper.

"Because that's a breakup line. Unless you're breaking up with me-"

Jason quickly cut her off with a kiss, making Rosie see herself kiss Leo over and over and over-

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Pass the pity pudding, please."

"No breakups," Jason promised Piper. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," Piper said. "Because you're stuck with-"

"Guys," Rosie interrupted fearfully.

"What?"

Percy was running towards them, a look of pure fear on his face.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Piper said once Percy finished telling the story. "Annabeth was kidnapped on a motor scooter by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck."

They were back on the ship's deck with Coach, hearing the story of Annabeth's mission from Percy.

"I can't believe we missed Audrey Hepburn," Rosie muttered quietly.

"Not exactly kidnapped, per say," Percy said, wincing. "But I've got a bad feeling...she's gone, guys. Maybe-maybe I shouldn't have let her, but-"

"You had to," Piper assured him. "She had to go alone. She's smart...she'll be okay."

Percy relaxed a little, Piper's charmspeaking obviously having an effect on him. "Right- you're _right_. Anyways, Gregory- I mean Tiberinus said we might have less time to rescue Nico than we thought. Hazel and the guys aren't back yet?"

Piper glanced at the clock on the helm control. "Shit- it's two in the afternoon. We said three for our meeting."

"At the latest," Jason shuddered.

Rosie started chewing on her fingernail, nervous.

Percy pointed at Piper's dagger. "Tiberinus said you could find Nico's location with...well, that thing."

Piper's face hardened. "I tried, Percy. The dagger doesn't always show what I want to see. It hardly ever does."

"Please, Piper," he pleaded, his green eyes looking especially sad. "Try one more time."

Piper groaned, pulling her dagger out. "You two are annoyingly convincing," she said to Rosie and Percy. "I can see the family resemblance."

"While you're at it, McLean," Coach cut in. "Could you check the baseball scores? Italians don't cover baseball worth beans."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Coach, hush please."

The light shimmered off the bronze blade, and they all crowded around it, peering down. A loft apartment filled with Roman demigods appeared. There had to be a dozen of them crowded around a table, listening to Octavian talk and point to a big map. Reyna paced nervously behind, glancing at Central Park every few seconds, her face plagued by worry and fear. Rosie had a new respect and sadness for Reyna- by the way Jason had spoken, it sounded like she had lost her three best friends. Rosie couldn't imagine losing Leo, Piper, and Jason all at the same time. Reyna was truly alone, and it made Rosie's heart hurt.

Jason's face went pale. He was visually agitated taking in this sight. "Not good- not good at all," he muttered. "They're already set up a forward base in Manhattan."

"That map is Long Island, too," Percy commented.

"They're scouting the territory," Jason suggested. "Looking for...invasion routes."

Rosie gulped. This was really happening- they were going to attack Camp, and there was nothing they could do. Her home was going to be destroyed.

Piper took a shaky breath, peeking at her blade intently. The scene changed, light rippling across the blade. Ruins appeared- crumbling walls, a single column, and a stone floor covered with moss and dead vines. The ruins were clustered together on a hillside dotted with pine trees.

"I was just there," Percy told them. "That's in the old Forum."

The view zoomed in quickly. On one side of the stone floor, a set of stairs had been excavated, leading down to a modern iron gate with a padlock. The blade's image focused straight through the doorway, down a spiral staircase, and into a dark, cylindrical chamber. The image terrified Rosie.

This seemed to scare Piper as well- she dropped the blade with a frightened yelp.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked her. "That looked like it was important."

"We can't go there," Piper insisted, her eyes wide with fear.

Percy jerked back in surprise. "Piper, we have to. Nico is dying. We have to find him. Rome is about to get destroyed. I'm sorry, but we have no time."

Rosie knew her brother was right. And yet, something about the way Piper reacted scared her.

Piper robotically moved, picking up the dagger again, her eyes glassy. She looked at the blade again, them all peering around it. Rosie saw two giants in armor sitting on praetors' chairs. They toasted one another with huge goblets. Between the two giants was a large bronze jar.

The vision zoomed in again, showing Nico diAngelo curled up into a ball in the jar. Rosie thought of her dream, involuntarily shuddering. Percy shot her a comforting smile.

"Are we too late?" Jason asked, panicked.

"No," Percy answered. "No- we can't be. I don't believe that. I think he's gone into a deeper trance. Maybe to buy us some time. We have to hurry."

The image of the blade went black, Piper slowly sliding her dagger back into its sheath. Piper looked completely shaken up by the images on her blade, and Rosie wanted to know what she was hiding.

"We...um, we should wait," Piper argued. "Wait for Hazel, Leo, and Frank. They'll be back soon,"

Percy shook his head. "We can't wait. It has to be now."

"Does it?" Piper scrunched her eyebrows together in worry.

Coach grunted. "I can take the giants off your hands."

"Um, Coach," Jason winced. "Great offer, but you need to man the ship."

Coach scowled. "I'm not letting you four leave. I'll go."

Percy sighed. "Coach, please. We need to do this for Nico. Hazel and the others need you here. When they get back, they'll need your leadership. You're their rock."

"Yeah," Rosie finally spoke up, trying to keep a straight face. "Leo is always saying that you're the rock. You can tell them where we have gone and bring the ship around to meet us at this Forum."

"And here. Take this." Piper quickly handed him her dagger. Rosie's mouth dropped in shock.

"Seriously?" Coach asked in a surprised tone.

Piper nodded. "Yeah- Take it. Keep an eye on us with it- and you can check the baseball scores."

"You got a deal," Coach said grimly. "But if any giants come this way-"

"Go ahead and blast them, Hedge," Jason said.

Rosie nodded. "It'll be your duty, Coach."

"And annoying tourists?" Coach asked hopefully.

"No," everyone answered in unison.

"Bah- Okay. Just don't take too long- otherwise I'll come after you four with the ballista."

Percy looked at three of them. "Ready?"

Piper didn't look so ready. Her eyes were wide with fear, causing a feeling of dread in Rosie.

And yet, Piper nodded. "Ready."


	27. Cleansed

**radoddish- dun dun dunnnn! :O**

**MilkandCheez- haha thank you, glad to hear it! love the username btw**

* * *

Getting into the Forum was suspiciously easy. Percy has no issue finding it, and Jason's sword easily cut through the padlock, sending the metal gates creaking open. No alarms went off. No mortals came to tell them to knock it off. All they could see was spiral stairs that went down into the darkness.

"I guess I'll go first," Jason volunteered uneasily.

"No!" Piper yelped, grabbing his arm.

"Okay, what is it?" Rosie pleaded. "Have you see this in your blade before?"

Piper hesitated, but nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you guys. I saw the room down there filling with water. I saw the four of us drowning."

Rosie gulped, as Jason and Percy both frowned.

"Drowning," Percy said flatly. After all, he didn't know that was possible for a Poseidon kid until he met Rosie.

"Maybe the future has changed?" Jason suggested hopefully. "In the image you just showed us before, there wasn't any water."

"Look," Percy said slowly. "I can check it out first. It's fine."

Rosie felt a brief surge of panic, imagining losing another brother to drowning. "Wait-"

Percy squeezed her shoulder. "I'll be right back, Ro. Promise." Percy disappeared into the stairwell.

Rosie counted the seconds in her head, grateful for when he finally reappeared around thirty five seconds.

He looked slightly baffled, if anything. "Um...so good news: no water. Bad news: I don't see any exits down there. And...well, come and see for yourselves."

Percy took the lead down, his sword drawn. Rosie followed him, Piper at her heels and Jason bringing up the rear. The stairwell was cramped; it felt like the four of them were on top of one another. As they wound their way underground, Rosie spotted graffiti decorating the walls.

They reached the bottom of the stairwell, Percy holding up a hand.

"Watch the last step," he said. Percy jumped to the floor of the cylinder, mostly because the floor was five feet lower than the last stair. That was strange. Rosie jumped down to be next to Percy.

They were in a chamber, walls curved around them and a single domed ceiling about fifty feet above. The back side of the room, what Rosie was currently staring at, had nine alcoves carved into the wall. Each niche was about five feet off the ground and big enough for a human-sized statue, but each was empty.

"Okay," Percy said after he exhaled. "Time for the weird part."

Percy stepped to the middle of the room, as green and blue light rippled across the walls. She could hear the sound of a fountain, but glancing around, she saw no water.

"Do you smell the ocean?" Percy asked.

Jason sighed. "You two always smell like the ocean-"

"No, I do," Piper cut in, looking nervous. "It's just an illusion, right?"

Rosie could smell it too- she had smelled that smell her entire life in Maine. It smelled like a summer hurricane approaching. She nervously backed up towards the stairs.

"I..I don't know," Percy said. "I feel like there should be water here- lots of it. But...I don't know why there isn't."

"This place...this place is freaking me out," Rosie admitted.

Jason moved to inspect the niches in the wall. He touched the bottom shelf of the nearest one, which was barely at his eye level. "This stone is embedded with seashells. It's a nymphaeum."

"A...a what?" Rosie asked.

"We had one at Camp Jupiter," Jason explained. "On Temple Hill. It's a shrine to the nymphs."

That was good, right? Rosie knew the nymphs at Camp Half-Blood; they were just silly gossips.

"Shrines like these were all over the place in Ancient Rome," Jason explained, no longer looking excited to talk about his history. "Rich people had them placed in their villas to honor nymphs, to make sure the local water was fresh. Some shrines were built around natural springs...most were man made."

"So...no nymphs actually live here?" Piper asked hopefully.

"I don't know," he admitted. "This should be a pool with a fountain. A lot of the time, if a nymphaeum would belong to demigod, he or she would invite nymphs to live there. If the spirits took up residence, it was considered good luck."

"For the owner," Percy nodded. "But it would aso bind the nymphs to the new water source, which would be great if the fountain was in a sunny park with fresh water pumped in through the aqueducts-"

"But…" Rosie frowned. "This place has been underground for centuries- completely dry. Where exactly did the nymphs go?"

The sound of hissing emerged, as the rippling light changed to purple and lime green. The niches were no longer empty- each one was filled with a withered old woman. They looked like mummies- glowing purple eyes and silk dresses worn in tatters.

The creature in the center niche smiled cruelly at her, fixing her purple eyes on Rosie. "What an interesting question, my dear. Perhaps we would be here, waiting for revenge."

Rosie groaned- there was always something.

With a shudder, she realized the doorway had disappeared. Their only exit was gone.

Percy and Jason both drew their swords.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded.

The central nymph laughed. "Ah, names. We once had those. I was known as Hagno, the first of the nine!"

Figures the hag-like nymph would be named that.

"The nine nymphs," Jason said. "The nymphs of this shrine- always nine niches."

"Very good, Jason Grace. Except we are the originals, meaning we were there for the birth of your father."

Jason faltered. "Wait, you mean you were there? When Jupiter was born?"

"Yes- he went by Zeus then," Hagno explained. "We attended Rhea in her labor. When the baby arrived, we hid him so his father Kronos wouldn't eat him. Such lungs that baby had! It was all we could do to drown out the noise so Kronos could not find him. When Zeus grew up...we were promised eternal honors. But that was in the old country, in Greece."

The other nymphs wailed in agreement, clawing at their niches.

"When Rome rose to power," she continued. "We were invited here. A son of Jupiter tempted us with favors. A new home, he promised. He said Rome would last forever."

"Forever," the other nymphs hissed in unison. A chill went down Rosie's spine.

"We gave in to that temptation," Hagno said. "We left our simple wells and springs on Mount Lycaeus and moved here. For centuries, our lives were wonderful: parties, dresses! Every demigod of Rome flirted with us and honored us."

The nymphs sighed loudly. Rosie could feel her knees trembling.

"Rome did not last, however," Hagno snarled at them. "The aqueducts were diverted. Our master's villa was abandoned and torn down. We were forgotten, buried under the earth, but we could not leave. Our life sources were bound to this place. Our old master never saw it fit to release us. For centuries, we have withered in this darkness. We have been so..._thirsty_."

Rosie felt her own throat dry up.

"I'm sorry," Piper said, clearly charmspeaking. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. It must have been terrible. But we are not your enemies. If we can help you-"

"Beautiful voice!" Hagno cried at Piper. "Such a pretty girl. I was once like you, pretty and young. My voice was as soothing as a mountain stream. But do you know what happens to a nymph's mind when she is trapped in the dark, with nothing to feed on but hatred, nothing to drink but thoughts of violence? Yes, dear. You shall help us."

Percy gulped, raising. "Uh-I'm the son of Poseidon. My sister is here as well," He said, gesturing to Rosie. "We can maybe summon a new water source?"

The nymphs broke out in laughter, it echoing in the deep chamber.

"Indeed, children of Poseidon," Hagno said. "We know your father and all his secrets very well. If only you knew his sacrifice...We knew you would come here. Ephialtes and Otis promised you would come."

"Sacrifice?" Rosie asked, frowning. That sounded ominous. Did they mean Max?

Piper grabbed onto Jason. "The giants," she said shakily. "You're-you're working for them?"

"They are our neighbors," Hagno answered. "Their chambers lie beyond this place, where the aqueduct's water was diverted for the games. Once we have dealt with you...once you have helped us...the twins have promised we will never suffer again."

Hagno looked at Jason. "You, child of Jupiter- for the horrible betrayal of your predecessor who brought us here, you shall pay. I know the sky god's powers. I raised him as a baby! We nymphs once controlled the rain above our wells and springs. When I'm done with you, we will have that power again. Children of Poseidon, Percy and Rosemary, from you we will not only take away your ability to know the truth, but water, an endless supply of water."

"Endless?" Percy blinked. "Um- I'm not sure if we could do that. Maybe a few gallons."

"And Piper McLean," Hagno snarled at her best friend. "So young, so lovely, a beautiful woman. From you we will reclaim our beauty. We are very thirsty. From you four, we shall drink!"

The nymphs disappeared with a pop.

Rosie felt her heart drop in her stomach as dark water started to pour from their niches.

* * *

She didn't think it was possible for one person to be in a hypothetical drowning situation as many times as she had been in one.

And yet, that was the demigod life.

The basin started filling up with alarming speed, as the four of them nervously panned out, searching for an exit. Pounding on the walls did nothing- they were trapped. They tried climbing into the alcoves, but the water pouring out of the niches was vicious, already up to their knees.

"Lightning," Jason managed to get out after the brief haze of confusion passed over. "I could try to blast a hole in the roof."

Piper shook her head. "That could collapse the entire room." Saying this, she glanced at Rosie- no doubt afraid that Rosie would accidentally bring the whole place down and bury them alive. Hey, it was a valid fear.

"Rather not get electrocuted today," Rosie muttered.

Jason sighed. "By all means," he said, annoyed. "I'm open to other ideas!"

"I'll search the bottom," Percy volunteered.

"Percy, for once, can you please not be the hero?" Rosie pleaded. Selfishly, she knew she couldn't handle losing another brother again.

He gave her a sympathetic look. "I can do it. If this was built as a fountain, there has to be a way to drain it. While I'm gone, check the niches, okay? There might be a secret exit, or something."

As Percy disappeared into the water, the three of them climbed into the niches, kicking and pounding them. Nothing happened; no magical doors or windows to bail them out.

Percy broke through the surface again, gasping and thrashing. Rosie quickly offered him her hand, which he eagerly accepted.

As she pulled him out of the water, he was coughing. "Can't-breathe down there," he managed to choke out. "Water...not normal. Hardly-hardly made it back."

For a brief moment in time, she shut down. The panic paralyzed her; numbed her muscles and rendered her lungs useless.

She snapped out of it, realizing it didn't matter anymore. She was going to die on this quest anyways; might as well go out fighting like hell. She wasn't going to let her friends die; she couldn't let them down.

The water was her hell. But her friends needed her- she would help them. She had to.

The water was poisoned. Percy was right- as the water rose to her level, she could feel her muscles trembling, her skin pruning and becoming wrinkled. Her entire body started shivering.

The other three seemed to be reacting to the water the same way she was.

"They're taking our power," Rosie said to them. "They're...draining us."

Percy spit up something, winching. "Jason," He gritted out. "Try the lightning."

Shaking, Jason raised his sword. The entire room rumbled violently, but with no sign of lightning. Rain poured down from the ceiling. The instant it touched her skin, she knew it wasn't normal rain. She winced in pain as the drops fell on her- acid. The drops felt like acid.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Jason choked out. "That's not what I wanted."

_Don't think about Max_, she ordered herself.

The water was up to their necks now. She clung to the wall tightly.

Rosie shot a comforting look at Jason. "It's okay," she said gently. "We're...we're not gonna drown. We'll survive." For the first time, she prayed to her father. She prayed that he would save them.

Percy was visibly panicked, pushing the water with the back of his hand. "I-I can't control it!"

She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. She tapped out Morse code on his hand: _I love you._

"We can't fight it!" Piper shouted over the sound of the water. "Holding back makes us weaker!"

"What?" Jason shouted back.

The water had inched up to their chins now. A few more inches, and they'd be completely submerged. Was she really going to die just like Max had, almost three years beforehand? It was too cruel and ironic.

"The horn of plenty," Piper choked out. "We have to offer the nymphs fresh water, give them more than they can use. If we dilute the poisonous stuff-"

Percy was panting, his chest heaving to and down. "I-I can't breathe. God, I can't breathe-"

"Percy!" Rosie commanded, treading wildly, her head barely above the water. "Look at me."

"Rosie, I can't breathe-"

"_Shut up and look at me!_"

Percy looked at her, plain and old as day fear in his eyes.

"I know you're scared," she started slowly. _I am too. _"But I told you it's okay to sit back and not do anything. We've got you..okay? We've got you."

Percy's breathing slowed a little.

"Think of Annabeth," She suggested with a small smile. "We're going to see each other soon, and swap all the great stories we have. She's going to need to hear this story. You know, the not dying part."

Percy quieted, nodding gently. "Okay ...alright. Piper, can your horn do this?"

Piper nodded determinedly. "I need everyone's help...but yes. I can do this." She took a deep breath. "I need everyone to channel everything you've got into the cornucopia. Percy, Rosie, think about the sea."

"Salt water?" Percy asked suspiciously.

"Any type," she answered. "As long as it's clean. Jason, think about rain-storms- so much rain. Everyone hold the cornucopia."

The four of them huddled around the cornucopia, as the water lifted them off their ledges and started raising them towards the ceiling.

She thought of the sea- clean, refreshing sea. She thought of its strength and powerful, how she hated it sometimes. She thought about its ability to wash away and pervade. Right now, they needed a damn flood.

Nothing was happening, no matter how hard she concentrated. The rain still came down in sheets, burning her skin as it fell.

Rosie felt her entire body becoming heavy, the water slowly beginning to pull her under.

_No._

Jason spit out some water. "This isn't working!"

Percy nodded. "We're getting nowhere."

"Guys, we have to work together!" Piper cried. "I-I think this'll work."

Rosie nodded. "So we'll try again- we have to."

Piper hesitated. "You three...think of clean water- a storm of water. Don't hold anything back. Picture all your strength leaving you."

"That's totally not hard!" Percy said bitterly.

"Force it out!" She snapped. "Offer up everything like-like you're already dead. Your only goal is to help the nymphs. It's got to be a gift...a sacrifice."

She gulped- she was really starting to hate that word.

Jason had gone pale at these words, no doubt thinking of the past sacrifices in his life: his mother sacrificing him to Hera, his friend Calla sacrificing herself.

She was thinking of her own sacrifices in life- her father sacrificing Max, being Gaea's sacrificial pawn.

"Let's try again," Jason said quietly. "Together."

It wasn't hard for her to imagine herself dead, imagine herself hopelessly powerless. It seemed like that was the direction her life was already headed to anyways.

_Powerless_, she told herself. _I am powerless._

Clear water blasted from the horn, so much force behind it, the four of them were pushed into the wall. The rain changed to a clear white torrent.

"It's working!" Rosie cried.

"It's working a little too well!" Percy roared. "We're filling up the room too fast!"

Percy was right- the ceiling was only a few feet away.

"Keep going!" Piper ordered. "We have to dilute the poison until the nymphs are cleansed."

"_Can_ they be cleansed?" Jason questioned. "They've been down here turning evil for thousands of years."

"Don't hold back," Piper pleaded. "Give everything. Even if we go under-"

Rosie felt her head hit the ceiling, the rain clouds overhead dissipating and melting onto them. Piper's horn continued to blast out a clean torrent of water.

Piper pulled Jason close, kissing him. She gave him a comforting smile, caressing his cheek. "I love you," she said.

Rosie's heart started pounding.

And then she was submerged.

Rosie held her breath, the sound of the current roaring in her ears. She closed her eyes, ignoring the severity of the situation before them. It was okay. Maybe even great that she went out this way- it sounded better than hurting her friends.

She was ready to stop fighting.

A hand suddenly yanked her up to the surface, where she realized the water was quickly draining out of the room. She held onto Percy as the room completely drained, the two of them clutching onto one another for dear life. She looked at him, and a look of complete understanding passed between them: they had both been terrified.

Piper was clinging to Jason, her face pale. "Jason!" She yelled, slapping him. Jason was unconscious and lifeless on the ground.

Rosie vomited onto the ground, her hands shaking.

"Piper," Percy whispered, slowly crawling over to them. "I can help."

Percy knelt next to the two of them, touching Jason's forehead. Water gushed from Jason's open mouth, his eyes flying open. A giant clap of thunder boomed, the force of it causing Rosie, Percy, and Piper to jolt backwards.

Jason sat up weakly, clutching his stomach and gasping. "Sorry-" he coughed out. "I didn't mean to-"

Piper cut off his words with a hug, throwing herself into Jason.

Rosie shook her head at Jason. "You have _got _to stop doing that," she said with a shaky laugh.

Percy grinned. "In case you're wondering, Jason, that was clean water in your lungs. It came out with no problem."

Rosie shoved him lightly. "You have to teach me how to do that!"

"Thanks, Bro," Jason said, clapping Percy's hand. "But we owe all of this to Piper- she saved us all."

Rosie beamed at her best friend.

"_Yes, she did." _

A voice echoed through the chamber, bouncing off the walls. The niches flowed, nine figures appearing. These figures were no lingered withered creatures, but young, beautiful nymphs in shimmering gowns.

Eight of the nymphs smiled before dissolving into vapor and floating upward. Only the one in the center remained smiling at them.

"Hagno?" Piper asked.

The nymphs smiled. "Yes, dear. I didn't think such selflessness existed in demigods...no offense."

Rosie stood. "You just tried to drown us...of course we're not offended!" She said sarcastically.

Hagno winced. "Sorry- I wasn't myself. But you four have reminded of the sun and the rain and the stream in the meadows. Percy, Rosie, Jason- you have made me remember the sea and the sky. But mostly, thanks to Piper McLean. She shared something even better than clear running water." Hagno turned to Piper. "You have a good nature, Piper. And I'm a nature spirit- I know these things."

Hagno pointed to the other side of the room, where an amazing sight appeared.

"Rosie, are you crying?" Piper asked, amused.

She couldn't help it. "Look, guys," she cried with a smile. "_Stairs_."

"You may return to the surface," Hagno said. "Or, should you insist, you may follow the waterway to the giants. But choose quickly, demigods. Both doors will fade soon after I am gone. That pipe connects to the old aqueduct line, which feeds both this nymphaeum and hypogeum that the giants call home."

Percy groaned, wincing in pain. "Ugh, please no more big words."

"Home is not a complicated word," Hagno said. "I thought it was, until you four unbound us from this place. My sisters have gone to seek new homes..a mountain stream, perhaps, or a lake in a meadow. I will follow them. I cannot wait to see the forests and grasslands again, and the clean oceans."

Percy shot a nervous look at Rosie. "Um...things have kinda changed up there in the last few thousand years."

Hagno waved him off. "Nonsense! How bad could it possibly be? Pan would not allow nature to become tainted. I cannot wait to see him, in fact."

Percy blinked. "Ha. Um. Yeah. About that-"

"Good luck, Hagno!" Piper quickly cut him off. "And thank you."

The nymph smiled at them one final time before vaporizing.

For one brief second, the nymphaeum glowed with a softer light. She could smell flowers blooming. In the distance, she could hear laughter and soft music.

Jason shot them a nervous look. "What is that?"

Piper was smiling to herself as she slipped her hand into Jason's. "The ghosts are dancing," she told him. "Come on. We'd better go meet the giants."


	28. Let the Games Begin

**SEASBLU- more is here :D!**

* * *

The last thing Rosie wanted to do was climb into a dark, musty drainage pipe. Unfortunately, that was their only option.

Annabeth was presumably still on her quest. God knows where Frank, Hazel, and Leo were but it was worrying her more and more by the second. She could only hope and pray that Nico diAngelo was still alive, and that this wasn't for nothing.

If she focused on these things, the big things such as dying and being Gaea's sacrifice didn't seem so bad!

The drainage pipe opened up into a wide tunnel. To the left was a rumbling and creaking noise, making Rosie shudder in the possibility of what it could be. They figured this was a sign that they had to go left- most definitely towards the danger.

A few hundred feet later, they reached another turn in the tunnel, making Percy pause. He held up a hand to them, peeking cautiously around the corner. The three of them followed his lead.

The corridor opened up into an enormous room with twenty-foot ceilings and rows of support columns. It reminded her of a parking garage, though she knew it definitely wasn't that.

They figured out the source of that creaking noise- gears and pulleys raised and lowered sections of the floor, making her gulp with trepidation. Of course, there was more water- great. Water flowed through open trenches, powering water wheels that would then power some of the machines found in the room. Hellhounds were also in the room, running on what looked like giant hamster wheels.

There were cages suspended from the ceiling filled with all sorts of live animals. Lions, zebras, packs of hyenas, and an eight-headed hydra. Leather conveyor belts creeped along with stacks of weapons and armor.

Leo would've gone insane seeing this place- to him, this would be a giant playground. Rosie pushed the thought away, commanding herself to stop thinking about him. She comforted herself, saying it was just a thought that popped into her head about her best friend. Best friend- that's all.

"What is this place?" Piper whispered in a hushed tone.

Percy shrugged, cautiously entering the room.

As they entered, a wooden cutout of a gladiator suddenly popped up in front of them, making them all jump in surprise. It connected with a conveyor belt, being whisked away, eventually hooking onto a rope and rising towards the ceiling.

They inspected the room further. Near the far side of the wall stood a platform with two large, empty throne-like seats. In between the two of them was a bronze jar.

Piper spotted it, frowning. "That's...too easy."

Rosie nodded in agreement. "That's...suspicious."

Percy squinted at the jar. "Yeah. It can't be that simple…"

"We have no choice," Jason stated miserably. "We've got to save Nico."

She glanced at Jason- he was looking at the jar with a hopeful look, as if already imagining saving Nico. She knew, however, he wasn't picturing Nico. He was picturing Calla- trying to right the wrong he did so long ago. She understood it- she couldn't help but picture her own brother Max. She would save Nico- Hazel wasn't going to lose her brother today. Maybe they were all picturing their past ghosts.

Percy led the way across the room, stopping cautiously a few times. The entire room seemed like a trap, things whizzing and moving.

They jumped over a water trench, ducking underneath a row of caged wolves, who bared their teeth at them viciously. They were halfway to Nico's jar when the ceiling suddenly opened. A platform lowered down. Standing on it was a purple-haired giant.

"Ephialtes," Percy muttered under his breath, a look of recognition on his face.

Ephialtes was about twelve feet tall. He was wearing an extremely loud Hawaiian shirt. Instead of it having some sort of tropical design on it, it was covered with graphic images of warriors dying or being eaten by lions. His purple hair was braided with silver and gold coins. He wore bright white jeans and leather shoes on his...snakeheads. The giant didn't have feet- no, he had curved snakeheads. They flickered their tongues at the four of them.

The giant smiled down at them. "Welcome, welcome!" he bellowed. Rosie shuddered- she recognized his voice from the dream she had. His was the taunting voice, the one that seemed to take glee in the fact that Gaea had such a grudge against Poseidon children. It was haunting to put a face to the voice. "I am very happy to see you! Granted, I didn't think you'd make it past the nymphs, but congrats that you did! It makes this much more entertaining. You made it just in time for the main event!"

"We're...here," Percy said obviously. "Just let our friend go."

Ephialtes nodded. "Of course! Although, I do fear he is a bit past his expiration date. Otis, where are you? Brother?"

The floor opened up, a platform appearing again. On it stood the other giant- Otis.

Ephialtes' eyes widened, his expression turning to horror. "Um, brother, what are you wearing?"

Rosie had to stifle a laugh. Otis was wearing a skin-tight shiny blue leotard, one that was a little too tight for Rosie's liking. A diamond tiara was nestled in his green braided hair. He looked miserable, but managed to bow.

"It's showtime!" Ephialtes scolded him. "What were you thinking?!"

Otis shrugged. "I didn't want to wear the gladiator outfit! I think a ballet would be perfect for Armageddon!" He peered at the demigods hopefully. "I do have some extra costumes-"

"No!"

Ephialtes looked at Percy with an apologetic smile. "Forgive my brother," he said. "He has awful stage presence- and do you see the outfit he's wearing? Terrible."

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "Right. Okay. Um, now about our friend…"

Ephialtes made a face of disgust."He's been utterly useless. He has spent days curled up sleeping! Who does that? We're going to let him finish dying in public, probably." He turned to Otis. "Brother, tip the jar."

Otis clumsily knocked over the jar, a body tumbling out of it. It was Nico DiAngelo. Rosie's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him- he was starkly pale and gaunt. He looked sickly, like you could see his bones if you peered at his face close enough. That was another thing- was he even alive?

"We must hurry," Ephialtes said. "We have to go through the stage directions- the hypogeum is all set!"

"Question," Rosie said, meekly raising her hand. "Not a huge fan of being in a show, but I was wondering: what exactly is a hypo...hypo...whatever-it-was?"

"Hypogeum!" Ephialtes bellowed. He gestured to Jason. "You should know, Son of Jupiter." Jason stared back at him blankly. "Eh...I suppose if we do our job correctly, you wouldn't know it."

"I know it," Piper said quietly. "It's the area under a coliseum. It housed all the set pieces and machinery used to create special effects."

"Wonderfully said!" Ephialtes said gleefully. "Are you a student of the theatre?"

"Um...my father's an actor," Piper said hesitantly, wondering if she should offer this information.

"Ooh! Have I seen him in anything?"

"Um-"

"Hear that Otis? An actor!"

Otis sighed. "Actors," he muttered disdainfully. "Everybody's an actor these days. No one can dance!"

"Be nice, brother!" Ephialtes scolded. "Anyways, my dear, you are correct. However, ours is a little different. You know how in the old days some giants were imprisoned under the earth, and from time to time would cause earthquakes when trying to escape?" He glanced at Rosie with a smile, making her shudder. She really wished she wasn't the spokesperson for earthquakes. "Well, we've done much better! Otis and I have been trapped under Rome for eons, but we've kept busy building our own hypogeum. Now are ready...ready to create the greatest spectacle Rome has ever seen- and the last!"

Nico suddenly shuddered violently. At least, he was alive- however, with not much time left.

"So!" Percy quickly jumped in. "Stage directions, you say?"

"Yup!" Ephialtes said, beaming. "So, here are some of the plans: you and the Earthshaker-"

"Earthshaker has a name!" she cut in, glaring at the giant.

"Oops! You, Percy, and your sister Rosemary must be kept alive, if possible. It would be nice if you two decided to turn yourselves in, no blood shed. It would be in your best interest, considering the doom the Annabeth girl is already in."

She remembered what the giants had said in her dream- Annabeth would derail their quest.

Percy went pale, making a strangled noise. "Doom? You don't mean she's-"

"Dead? No, unfortunately, not yet. But don't worry! We've got your other friends locked up."

Rosie felt the heat drain from her body. "L-Leo?" she sputtered out. "Hazel and Frank?" Were they taken hostage? Were they still alive?

"I believe those are their names, yes," Ephialtes nodded thoughtfully. "Course, they're more of a backup if you folk don't cooperate. The Athena girl will die, which will probably please Her Ladyship." He peered at them thoughtfully. "I guess you have a choice. We could make this easy: turn yourself in, or else...time for something entertaining."

Jason stepped forward, his entire body tingling with electricity. "You want entertaining?" he asked with a snarl. "I'll give you entertaining."

Piper stepped in front of him, somehow managing a smile on her face. Rosie could tell, however, that she was trembling. "Change of plans," she said soothingly. "How about you let us go? That would be a _real _twist."

Ephialtes seemed to ponder this, being pulled into a spell by Piper's words.

Nico shuddered again. Ephialtes peering at him, frowning.

"We can even do dance moves while we're escaping!" Piper quickly cut in. "Rosie does a mean worm."

No, she most certainly _could not_ do a mean worm- she face-planted the one time she tried to do it. And yet, she knew what Piper was doing- distracting the giants.

Otis nodded in agreement, wagging his finger at Ephialtes. "See, brother? That would be brilliant!"

Ephialtes peered at them thoughtfully and for a second, Rosie thought Piper had managed to fool them.

At the last second, he shook his head. "No ...I'm afraid not. My dear girl, I am the anti-Dionysius. I have a certain...reputation to uphold. Dionysius thinks he knows parties? Bah, he's wrong! His revels are tame compared to what I do. The stunt, for example, that we pulled when we piled up mountains to reach Olympus."

"I told you that would never work, brother!" Otis exclaimed angrily.

"Shut up!" Ephialtes barked. "Anyways, since the Romans always wanted bread and circuses- food and entertainment, we will offer them both as we destroy their city! Behold!"

Something landed at Rosie's feet, making her jump back in surprise.

She picked it up, glancing at the giants to see if they were serious. "Wonder bread?"

"Wonderful, isn't it?" Ephialtes laughed. "Keep that one, dear. I'm going to distribute millions as we obliterate Rome."

Nico was starting to move more. Percy glanced at him in alarm.

"Maybe," Percy ventured to the giants. "Maybe you should bring our other friends here. So, er...we could have more spectacular deaths, right?"

Ephialtes paused for a second, fiddling with his shirt. "No, I don't think so. It's too late to change the choreography. But no worries! The circus will be marvelous! The four of you will die in agony up above, where all the gods and mortals shall watch! But wait, there's more! That's just the opening ceremony! In the old days, the games went on for days or weeks. Our full spectacle, the destruction of Rome, will go on for one full month until Gaea awakens."

Jason's eyes widened. "One month until Gaea wakes up?"

Rosie felt like falling to the ground, as her knees buckled dangerously.

Ephialtes waved him off. "Yes, something about August first being the best date to destroy all humanity...I don't know! In her infinite wisdom, Mother Earth has agreed that Rome can be destroyed first, slowly and spectacularly. It makes sense."

Rosie turned to Percy, the loaf of bread in her hands. "Please take the Wonder Bread from me," she pleaded.

"You're Gaea's warm-up act," Percy said to the giants.

Ephialtes frowned. "We are no warm up, Son of Poseidon," he said coldly. "Our special effects department will produce fire and earthquakes. Sinkholes and volcanoes! Ghosts will run rampant!"

"The ghost thing won't pull ratings," Otis grumbled.

"Nonsense!" Ephialtes stormed over to a table that was covered with a sheet. Pulling the sheet away, he exposed a collection of levels and knobs almost as complicated as the ones found on the _Argo II. _Once again, she found herself wishing Leo was there.

Ephialtes was gesturing to several of the buttons. "This one? It'll eject a dozen rabid wolves into the Forum. And this button? This ones for you, children of Poseidon! It'll cause the Tiber to flood its banks!"

Percy gulped. "Um...I still think the letting us go idea is the best idea."

"Yeah!" Piper said, trying again. "You know, we've defeated many giants lately- I'd hate for you to be one of them."

"You're right," Ephialtes said, nodding.

"Um-I am?"

"Everything must be timed perfectly. Don't worry, I've choreographed your deaths, you'll love it!"

Nico started crawling away slowly. Maybe if Rosie chucked the wonder bread at him it would be an incentive to move his little butt faster.

Jason was fidgeting with his sword. "And if we refuse this little spectacle?"

Ephialtes laughed. "Well, I don't see a god, do you? You can't kill us. It would be more sensible to die painfully. Sorry! Show must go on."

Percy looked over at them. "I hate this guy's shirt."

Piper held up her horn. "Fighting time?"

Jason moaned. "I hate Wonder Bread."

"Carbs are overrated," Rosie muttered.

Together, they charged.


	29. Pawns

Of course, things went wrong for them immediately.

The giants, eager to show off their special effects, disappeared in a cloud of smoke, appearing at the other side of the room.

Percy and Jason charged toward the giants.

Rosie uneasily glanced at Nico, who was shuddering on the ground. A pack of hungry leopards advanced towards him, flicking their tongues hungrily at him.

"Piper…" Rosie started uneasily.

"Right behind you."

She glanced at Piper, who nodded.

Together, the two of them leaped from panel to panel, making their way towards Nico.

Rosie thought of that game she used to play in the lobby of the apartment with her mother. It was a black and white tiled floor- they pretended like the black tiles were lava, leaping from white tile to white tile in attempts to avoid the black ones.

This, however, was the real thing. Rosie swerved and ducked to avoid the fires blasting from the ground. At some points she was so close to it she could feel the heat radiating off on her.

She was grateful for the drainage pipes beneath them and the water trenches- she could create small spouts of water from under the ground, extinguishing fires as they made their way across the room.

Suddenly, something popped up in front of her. She instinctively pulled her arms up as a guard, only cautiously pulling them down when she realized the figure wasn't attacking- it was a life sized Jack-in-the-Box, swaying and bobbing, grinning maniacally down at her.

"You okay?" Piper shouted, dodging another blast of fiery heat.

"May have nightmares for the rest of my life, but yes, I'm good!"

She weaved around the Jack-in-a-Box, kneeling down next to Nico.

Nico's eyes were barely open, merely slots staring out into the harsh lighting. Every so often, he would wince, his entire gaunt body frame shaking.

"Nico?" She asked. "Nico, can you hear me?"

Piper reached them, kneeling down. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know, he-"

A growl came from one of the leopards, a stark reminder of the hungry pack advancing towards them. Rosie and Piper exchanged fearful looks.

"Any ideas?" Rosie asked hopefully.

"A dumb one, yes."

"I love dumb ones- go for it."

Piper picked up her horn, aiming it at the leopard. Unbelievably, a pot roast shot out of it, the leopards getting distracted and chasing after it.

Rosie looked at her best friend, a laugh on the edge of her lips. "Did you just shoot a pot roast at them?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Piper McLean, everybody."

Meanwhile, her brother was currently trying to make his way to Ephialtes, dodging all sorts of traps on his way. After escaping from a metal box, he attempted to reach Ephialtes.

Ephialtes laughed, releasing the hydra after Percy.

Jason was a few feet away from Percy, engaged in swordplay with Otis. It was quite a sight to see Otis twirling around gracefully as Jason weaved between him, stabbing and slaying.

"We need to move him," Piper said, frowning down at Nico. "I don't know how many more pot roasts I can summon."

Rosie nodded. "Okay," she said, placing one of Nico's limp arms around her shoulders. "You take the other side."

"Got it."

As they began to move Nico, Rosie spotted Percy out of the corner of her eye, standing next to what looked like a very dangerous machine that Leo might have been able to put together.

"Duck and cover!" Percy yelled to them.

Piper glanced at Rosie. "What is he doing?!"

"I don't know! Why are you looking at me?"

"You're related to him-"

Several explosions went off at once, triggering many of the traps that were littering the room. Rosie saw Percy duck out of the way, as a grenade made Ephialtes waver dangerously.

Piper screamed, as sandbags started raining down from above. Rosie felt herself fall, shielding Nico's body. She heard a grunt from Piper as a sandbag caught her shoulder, dragging her down.

"Piper!" Rosie and Jason screamed in unison.

"Jason, watch out!" Percy yelled.

Jason dodged Otis' spear at the next second, summoning a gust of wind to change its direction.

It impaled itself in Ephialtes, who wailed in pain. He glared at his brother as he began to turn into dust. "Otis, stop killing me, you fool!"

Piper was on the ground, clutching her shoulder as she groaned in agony.

"Pipes," Rosie said in a worried tone. "Are you okay?"

Her shoulder was bent at an unnatural angle, making Rosie feel queasy.

Piper nodded, grunting. "Fine- I'm fine."

Another missile from Percy's death contraption went off, hitting the ceiling and making it explode in a shower of light. A section of the roof fell, burying Otis.

Nico sat up with a bewildered look.

Rosie gasped at him. "You're awake!"

"Who...who are you?" He muttered.

"Right now, tired," she groaned, watching the scene in front of her.

Ephialtes was reforming, glowering down at Percy. The pile of rubble from the explosion shifted, Otis' head popping out.

"Percy!" Jason shouted from across the room. "The controls!"

Percy took out his sword, smashing the control board.

"No!" Ephialtes screamed. "Don't ruins the spectacle!"

He swung his spear, smacking Percy across the chest. Percy stumbled, a scream caught in Rosie's throat. She had a nearly unconscious Nico on one side and an extremely in pain Piper on her other- she couldn't move.

Jason clumsily ran to Percy's side, Otis on his tail. The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder.

The giants approached them.

"Tired, Percy Jackson?" Ephialtes grinned. "As I said- you cannot kill us. So I guess we're at an impasse. Wait- we're not. We can kill you!"

"Finally," Otis muttered angrily.

"We're not giving up!" Jason yelled fiercely.

Percy nodded weakly. "Yeah- you're both dead. Who cares if we have a god on our side or not?"

"I'm a bit offended," a voice said.

A platform lowered down from the ceiling- on it was a man in a purple t-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals with white socks. He scowled at them from underneath his broad-brimmed hat. "I'd hate to think I made this trip for nothing."

"Dionysius," Ephialtes glowered.

"Actually, it's Bacchus, my dear friend," he corrected. "Someone told me that there was a party going on here?"

Ephialtes glanced nervously at the god. "You- you gods are doomed! Be gone in the name of Gaea!"

Bacchus peered at the two giants thoughtfully. "Have you two gotten shorter?"

"Oh that's low," Ephialtes growled at him. "We are tall enough to destroy you! You gods, always _hiding _behind your mortal heroes, trusting them with the fate of Olympus."

Jason played with his sword. "Lord Bacchus, are we going to destroy these giants or what?"

"I sure hope so," Bacchus said flatly. "Please, carry on."

"What? Didn't you come here to _help_?" Percy asked.

"Um, yes- I did come, didn't I? Now, however, I need to see if you're worthy of my help. Go ahead- battle. If I'm impressed, I'll join in time for the grand finale."

"Are you kidding?" Percy asked. "What is this to you, a show?"

"Not quite- I'll show you how it's done."

Everything went dark, and Rosie suddenly found herself sitting in some sort of observing box. Nico and Piper were at her side, a nymph in a nurse's scrubs holding ice to her shoulder. Bacchus was standing in front of them, wearing purple robes. He held a bottle of Diet Coke in his hand.

She couldn't believe it- they were in an _actual _coliseum. The crowd was thousands of purple ghosts, Lares of Rome, all yelling and chanting.

Jason and Percy looked like tiny dots from where she was standing, both of them facing the giants in the arena.

"This is how it's done!" Bacchus' voice boomed throughout the entire arena. "Impress me, dear demigods."

Percy glared up at him. "You're just going to sit there?!" He exclaimed angrily.

Bacchus grinned. "Juno tells me she's assembled a worthy crew of demigods. Show me. Entertain me, dear little heroes. Give me a reason to do more. Being a god has its perks."

The crowd cheered, as Rosie's stomach dropped.

* * *

She was angry.

She already knew the gods treated demigods like their pawns- each one of their lives was a testament to that.

And yet, here was Bacchus, the master puppeteer organizing this fight of Jason and Percy against the two giants.

"This is wrong," Rosie whispered in a hushed tone to Piper. "Like do we _cheer_? Do we sit here silently and get blown to bits by Bacchus?"

Piper was glaring at the back of Bacchus' head. "This is exactly what he did in Kansas," she said. "Left so Jason and Percy could try to kill one another."

Rosie gulped. "At least they're on the same team this time."

Ephialtes and Otis picked up a fake mountain in the arena, hurling it towards Jason and Percy.

Piper screamed out loud as Jason and Percy bolted into the nearest trench.

Rosie sat rigidly, her hands clutching the armrests of her chair. Was this what was going to happen in Rome? She would watch helplessly as Jason and Percy died?

The mountain missed them, but not before raining down debris upon them.

The entire crowd was buzzing, chanting in unison.

"_Fight! Fight! Fight!_"

Rosie glared at Bacchus. "Stop this!"

Bacchus raised his eyebrows at her. "I'd be careful with your tone, girl. You claim to be heroes, you have to prove it."

Jason and Percy were huddling together, deep in thought. Amazingly, Jason laughed at something Percy said.

The two of them charged out of the trench. Just as the giants were preparing to nuke another mountain at them, Percy made the pipes under their feet burst. Jason sent a blast of wind against Ephialtes' chest. Ephialtes toppled backwards, as Otis lost his grip on the mountain, which promptly collapsed onto Ephialtes.

"Hey, Otis!" Percy yelled. "The Nutcracker bites!"

Rosie couldn't help it- she nudged Piper with a proud grin on her face. "That's my brother."

Otis barreled toward them, no weapon in his hand. As he did, Jason summoned the wind, using Otis' momentum to shove him into the water. Otis fell, Percy and Jason launching themselves at the giant, bringing their blades down in unison.

"Sparky and Barnacle Boy make a great team," Piper whispered in awe.

"Hell yeah."

Otis exploded into powder, his essence scattering in the water, as Percy churned the lake into a whirlpool.

The plaster mountain that fell on Ephialtes suddenly exploded, showering the crowd with debris. Ephialtes rose, bellowing in anger.

Jason managed to call down a lightning strike, but not before Ephialtes caught it on his spear, deflecting the blast.

The two of them attacked the giant as one, dodging and weaving around, stabbing him.

"I will not yield!" The giant roared defiantly. "Gaea will rise!"

Percy lashed at him, but Ephialtes was quicker, swiping Percy off his feet.

He rolled onto his side, letting out a loud yelp of pain. Rosie sat forward in her seat, feeling her heart rate increase.

Jason was distracted by this, and in one split second of a moment that Rosie didn't even see, Ephialtes managed to slice the tip of his spear down Jason's chest. Rosie's jaw dropped at the sight of the thin line of blood down Jason's sternum. Ephialtes kicked him, Jason flying backwards and landing hard.

Piper screamed, her voice drowned out by the cheering crowd. Rosie grabbed her hand, squeezing it hard.

It seemed hopeless- Ephialtes towered over a hurt Percy and Jason, a murderous grin on his face.

That was, until she saw it.

A dark shape descending from the sky.

Rosie grinned as she heard a distant war cry from Coach, green fire blazing from the ship's ballista.

That old goat went to town, a green explosion rocking the arena and sending Ephialtes wailing to the ground.

The ghostly crowd stood, giving a standing ovation.

Rosie couldn't stop beaming at the sight of her friends on the ship- Leo whooping triumphantly, Hazel and Frank waving as Coach did a happy jig across deck.

Percy turned to the box where they were sitting, an amused look on his face. "Well?!" He exclaimed to Bacchus. "Is that enough for you, you little snotty buzzed-"

"No need for that, demigod," Bacchus suddenly disappeared from the box and appeared next to Percy. "I have decided that you are worthy partners in combat."

"Seriously?" Jason said. "You did nothing!"

Bacchus walked over to Ephialtes, raising his weapon.

The crowd roared. "DO IT!"

"NO!" Ephialtes wailed.

Bacchus shrugged, tapping Ephialtes on the nose. The giant instantly exploded into a puddle of dust.

The crowd went crazy, showering Bacchus with confetti.

Bacchus grinned at them. "Now that, is what I call a show! Of course I did something; I just destroyed two giants!"

Rosie rolled her eyes, walking down to join the others in the arena, Nico and Piper following her. She spotted the others climbing down from the ship.

"Well," Bacchus said. "I suppose you have my permission to continue your quest."

Percy narrowed his eyes at him. "Your permission?"

"Yes. After all this quest is going to be particularly hard for children of Neptune."

"Poseidon," Percy corrected venomously. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Bacchus grinned smugly. "Check the parking lot behind the Emmanuel Building. Best place to go through...and, erhm, best of luck with that." Bacchus vaporized.

Coach trotted up to them, Leo, Hazel, and Frank right behind him. "That was EPIC!"

"You're alive!" Percy said, clapping Leo on the back. "The giants said you were captured. What happened?"

Leo shrugged modestly. "Just some fabulous Leo Valdez work. It's amazing what you can do with an Archimedes sphere, a girl who can sense stuff underground, and a weasel."

"I was the weasel," Frank said glumly, raising his hand.

"10/10 for that entrance though," Rosie said with a grin, holding her hand up for a high five with Frank. Frank looked utterly surprised and a little confused by this, but smacked her hand anyway with a smile.

Leo quickly looked away from them. "Yeah, I, uh, activated a hydraulic screw with the Archimedes device- which, by the way, is going to be _awesome_ once I install it on the ship. Hazel sensed the easiest path to drill to the surface. We made a tunnel big enough for Frank the Friendly Weasel, and he climbed up with a simple transmitter I made. After that, we just did a slight hacking into Coach's baseball game-"

"Still mad about that," Coach grumbled.

"And told him to bring the ship around to rescue us!"

"Annabeth- What about Annabeth?" Percy pressed. "Where is she?"

Leo winced. "Yeah, about that, bro...we think she's in trouble. Hurt, broken leg maybe- at least according to the vision Gaea showed us. Next stop is rescuing her."

Percy faltered for a second, leaning onto Rosie. "Tell me about the vision," he croaked. "Tell me everything."

"On the ship," Hazel suggested lightly. "We need to move quickly."

They decided the best course of action would be to head to the Emmanuel Building, where Bacchus told them to go.

Hazel sat at the side with Nico, engaging with some sort of intense conversation with him.

Frank typed furiously at the helm's computer, as Leo played with the controls. Coach was attempting to help them by glancing at a map of Rome.

Leo's fingers drummed on the surface, as he muttered, "Emmanuel Building."

Rosie and Jason had worked together on Piper's shoulder, bandaging it and feeding her ambrosia.

Percy knelt down next to them. "How's the shoulder?" He asked Piper.

She smiled. "I'll be fine. You two did great."

Jason elbowed Percy. "We make a good team."

"Bromance," Rosie snickered.

Percy laughed. "Better than jousting in a Kansas cornfield."

"Yes!" Leo cried, pointing to the monitor. "There it is! Zhang, you're a genius! Setting course now."

Frank shrugged. "I just read the name off the screen. Some Chinese tourists marked it on Google Maps."

Leo grinned at the rest of them. "Frank reads Chinese- how cool is that?"

"Just a tiny bit," Frank said modestly.

Piper turned to Rosie, wiggling her eyebrows. "Another bromance?"

"Guys," Hazel interrupted. "Love the budding male friendships, but you need to hear this."

She helped a pale Nico to his feet.

"Thank you," He rasped to the group. "I had...given up hope." Something about Nico scared Rosie- she couldn't quite place her finger on it.

"You knew about the two camps all along," Percy said simply. "You could've told me who I was the very first day I show up to Camp Jupiter, but you didn't."

"Percy, I'm sorry. I only discovered it last year. My dad led me there, though I wasn't sure at the time. He told me the gods had kept the camps separate for centuries and that I couldn't tell anyone. The time wasn't right. I thought-thought he meant because of Hazel. I'd need a safe place to take her. Now I think he wanted me to know about both camps so I'd understand how important your quest was...so I'd search for the doors of Death."

Rosie thought about Hazel's words: the gods work in mysterious ways.

Jason sighed, sheepishly attempting to stop sparking.

"Did you find them? The doors?" Percy asked.

Nico hesitantly nodded. "I was a fool. I thought I could go anywhere in the Underworld...I walked right into Gaea's trap. I might as well have tried running from a black hole."

Frank's eyes widened, a look of fear on his face. "What kind of black hole are we talking here?"

Nico shot Hazel a nervous look.

Hazel jumped in for him. "He told me the Doors of Death have two sides- one in the mortal world, one in the Underworld. The mortal side of it is in Greece. It's heavily guarded by Gaea's forces...Nico thinks she's raising up an army too. Nico was captured there and they transported him to Rome."

"Where exactly in Greece is this doorway?" Piper asked, frowning.

Nico took a shaky breath. "The House of Hades. It's an underground temple in. Epirus. I can mark it on a map, but- the mortal side of the portal isn't the problem. In the Underworld, the Doors of Death are in...in…"

"Tartarus," Percy finished quietly. "The deepest part of the Underworld."

Nico nodded. "They pulled me into the pit, Percy. The things I saw down there…" He stifled a sob.

"No mortal has ever been to Tartarus," Hazel explained. "At least, no one has ever gone in and returned alive. It's the maximum-security prison of Hades, where the old Titans and the other enemies of the gods are bound. It's where all monsters go when they die on earth. It's...no one knows exactly what it's like, except for…" she shot an awkward look at Nico.

"Now I understand why Hades hasn't been able to close the doors," Nico said. "Even the gods don't go into Tartarus. Even the god of death, Thanatos, wouldn't go near it."

Leo was drumming his fingers on the wheel of the ship, a clear message that she knew was directed at her: _you okay_? She turned away from it, glancing instead at the sky. Leo sighed. "Let me guess. We have to go there."

Nico shook his head. "It's impossible. I'm the son of Hades, and yet I barely survived. Gaea's forces overwhelmed me instantly. They're so powerful down there...no demigod would stand a chance. I almost went insane."

"So we'll sail for Epirus," Percy offered. "We'll just close the gates on this side."

"It's not that simple," Nico said. "The doors have to be controlled on both sides to be closed. Like a double seal. Maybe, just maybe, all seven of you working together could defeat Gaea's forces on the mortal side, at the House of Hades. But unless you had a team fighting simultaneously on the Tartarus side, a team strong enough to fight the monsters down there-"

"There has to be a way," Jason insisted. Rosie squeezed his shoulder.

Percy glanced at the building they were approaching. "Is that the Emmanuel Building?"

Leo nodded. "There's the parking lot Bacchus mentioned...what now, chief?"

"We have to get her out."

"Uh, well...yeah. But, um…" Leo trailed off with an awkward look. She knew what he was thinking: were they too late. "There's a parking lot in the way."

Percy looked over at Coach. "Coach? You still have those ammo for those ballistae?"

Coach grinned wildly. "I thought you'd never ask!"

* * *

**one more chapter left :O**


	30. Ruins

**radoddish- HAHA i mean you're not wrong...**

**SEASBLU- haha idk reread them? LOL...waiting will be good! it'll be worth it, i promise!**

* * *

"DUCK AND COVER!"

"Coach, we're on the ship, we don't need to-"

_BOOM_.

A hole was blasted into the parking lot, cars being pulled into the ground, as asphalt crumbled. The _Argo II _slowly descended towards the hole in hopes of finding Annabeth.

Leo grabbed her elbow, pulling her slightly to the side. "Are we okay?"

"I mean, Coach didn't kill us, did he?" She joked lightly.

"Rosie-"

She broke out of his grasp. "We're okay."

"Freckles-"

"No time to talk. Annabeth's waiting."

Leo made a noise of aggravation, whipping some wires out of his belt and fidgeting with them. Rosie felt a flash of embarrassment- she was being terrible to her _friend_. She couldn't help it- her entire feelings of her and Leo's friendship was on shaky ground. She didn't know what to think anymore. She was freaking _confused_.

Percy peered over the railing towards the hole made in the ground. "ANNABETH!"

"_Here_!" Came a distant cry from the hole.

They lowered the rope ladder from the ship, descending into the ground, leaving Coach on board.

Annabeth stood there, at the edge of a gaping pit made by one of the cars that fell through the ground. She was covered in cobwebs, her leg covered in what appeared to be a Bubble wrap cast. She looked terrible, her entire body trembling in fear. But she was successful- the magnificent Athena Parthenos standing next to her, casting almost an eerie glow.

Percy got to Annabeth first, wrapping his arms around her. She broke down into sobs.

"It's okay," Rosie heard Percy whisper. "We're together."

Piper examined Annabeth's leg with concern. "Oh, Annabeth, what happened? Your leg…"

Annabeth explained the story, one that made Rosie shiver. Annabeth had run into Arachne, the literal worst monster an Athena kid could run into.

"Gods of Olympus," Jason muttered in awe when she finished. "You did all that...and with a broken ankle."

Annabeth shrugged. "Well...some of it with a broken leg."

Jason looked slightly intimidated. "Well...I'm impressed."

Annabeth shot him a small smile. "High praise, praetor."

Percy grinned. "You made spider woman weave her own trap? I knew you were good, but holy shit, Annabeth, that's _really good_. Generations of Athena kids tried and failed. _You_ found the Athena Parthenos."

Rosie smirked, turning to look at the statue. "So, I take it the statue's hitchhiking with us?"

Annabeth nodded. "We'll have to take her with us to Greece. She's powerful. Something about it will help us stop the giants."

"_The giants' bane stands gold and pale. Won with pain from a woven jail_," Hazel quoted. She looked at Annabeth with admiration. "It was Arachne's jail, and you tricked her into weaving it."

Leo placed a hand on his chin, peering at the statue. "Welllll...it might take some rearranging, but I think we can fit her through the bay doors in the stable. If she sticks out the end, I might have to wrap a flag around her feet or something."

Rosie peered at the chasm below them, feeling a cold blast of air. She could sense something in it, an evil presence almost. She leaned closer.

_Ready for some fun?_

She jerked back.

_Faltering foundations fail, my dear. The ground is my playing field, Earthshaker._

"Guys-" she started.

The chamber suddenly groaned, as the statue tilted.

"Secure it!" Annabeth screamed, an expression of fear on her face.

"Zhang!" Leo cried, panicked. "Get me to the helm, Coach is there alone!"

"_Wait_," Rosie whispered softly, so softly no one could hear.

Frank transformed into a giant eagle, grabbing Leo and heading towards the ship.

Jason wrapped his arm around Piper. "I'll be right back," he promised, shooting them up into the sky.

"It's going to collapse!" Rosie moaned, looking at the floor. "Get to the ladder now!"

Rosie headed for the rope ladder, Hazel quickly following after her. Hazel gestured for Nico to follow, but he was clearly in no position to sprint.

She saw grappling lines shoot from the ship, wrapping around the statue. She heard Leo shout orders as her friends scrambled around the ship, securing the statue.

Nico had just reached the ladder when Rosie heard Annabeth yelp in pain. Rosie's arm caught in the rope ladder, getting tangled- the rope was slowly breaking.

"Rosie!" Hazel yelled, losing her grip on the ladder. Rosie quickly lent her one of her hands.

She turned to see Annabeth stumble. Dear god ...her legs were still covered in cobwebs.

"Her ankle!" Rosie screamed, it coming out shrill and jagged. "_Percy, her ankle_!"

Hazel noticed, her face falling in horror.

"Cut it!" They screamed like crazy people, as Rosie grunted with the weight of holding onto Hazel. "Cut it!"

Rosie let out a sob, looking up at the Argo II above. She could see her friends scrambling to secure the statue, not a single one of them aware of what was happening underneath them.

"Jason!" She screamed, her voice becoming hoarse. "_Jason! Frank!_"

Hazel helped her, the two of them screaming their names as they dangled from the ladder.

Percy looked at them, confused, like he didn't know what they were talking about.

The pit started rumbling. Dear god, was that her?

Annabeth didn't notice her ankle. She was dragged back, veering dangerously on the unstable ground.

"Zhang!" She cried. "Guys!"

The rumbling was getting louder.

Something continued to yank Annabeth backwards, dragging her towards the pit. Percy, eyes wide, lunged for her. He managed to grab Annabeth's arm, but the momentum carried him along as well.

"No!" Rosie screamed.

"Help them, Nico!" Hazel pleaded, the two of them still flailing around. Rosie tried tightening her grip on the rope ladder- what if it broke and they went tumbling into the pit?

Nico tried hobbling over to them, but he was clearly in no shape to move. He grunted out in pain.

"I can't!" he moaned.

Rosie and Hazel were tangled in the rope ladder, their cries lost in the confusion and shaking of the cavern.

Everything happened so fast.

Annabeth was sobbing, as her body was edging towards the pit. Percy was holding onto her, his face scrunched in focus, trying to stop the two of them from being pulled in.

Rosie watched, helpless, as the two of them slipped in. Percy grabbed a ledge a few feet below the top of the chasm, his hand gripping Annabeth's.

The entire cavern was shaking, as Rosie cried. Was she doing it? Dear god, they needed _help._

Nico was leaning over the chasm, extending his hand to them. But it was hopeless- he was too far out of reach.

"JASON!" Hazel screamed, her voice ragged with tears. "FRANK!"

She knew it was hopeless.

They wouldn't hear them.

"Let me go, Percy," she could hear the faint voice of Annabeth pleading with her brother.

"Never," Percy shot back stubbornly.

_No no no please god, no-_

Did he have to be so selfless and stupidly stubborn?

"The other side, Nico!" Percy yelled up. "We'll meet you there, do you understand?"

Nico's eyes widened. "Percy-what-"

"Get them there!" Percy didn't sound scared. No, he sounded determined. Ready. "Promise!"

"I-I will. I promise." Nico let out a strangled sob.

_I'm sure your brother will love Tartarus._

"_NO!_" Rosie screamed.

"_Together_," she heard Percy whisper.

Her brother and Annabeth disappeared from view, the earth swallowing them whole.

* * *

She thought she had died.

Everything went numb for a second, as the floor went caving in and the world became silent after violent rumbling. A soft buzzing occured in her ears.

_Everything that comes from the earth eventually returns to it._

Hazel and Nico were on the ladder with her, their lips forming words she couldn't hear.

"Percy…" she croaked weakly.

Suddenly, Jason was there, shaking her and talking to her. She couldn't hear a thing.

"Rosie? What happened? _Where are Percy and Annabeth_?"

She couldn't speak. All she was...all she felt was….

_Numb._

"Tartarus," Hazel sputtered out with a sob.

Jason's face went slack, glancing down at where the pit had been, now covered with debris. He gulped. "No."

Nico sighed. "Jason-"

"It's fine," Jason snapped at him. "We can dig through the debris."

Jason grabbed Rosie, carrying her back up the ship, depositing her lightly on the floor. She stayed there on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.

Piper Leo, and Coach appeared, all slightly out of breath. "What happened?" Piper asked, concerned. She glanced at Rosie. "Rosie?"

"Frank!" Jason yelled determinedly, appearing with Hazel and Nico. "We need you."

Frank raised his eyebrows. "What...What happened?" His eyes grew wide as he realized two people were simply missing.

"Digging tools," Jason muttered to himself.

"What?" Piper asked. "Jason...where are the others?"

"Jason, take a breath," Coach pleaded.

"Leo, we need digging tools," Jason said to him, gripping Leo's shoulder.

"Bro, slow down," Leo said. "What...what's going on?" He glanced at Rosie, who was staring blankly at the ship's ground.

"They're _gone_," Hazel sobbed hysterically. "Annabeth and Percy…" she trailed off, throwing herself into Piper's arms.

Nico shuddered. "They're in Tartarus. I tried to reach them…"

"Why are we just _standing here_?!" Jason snapped angrily. "We are wasting time! We've got to save them!"

Leo's face had become crestfallen. "But...they're.." he trailed off silently.

"There's still time!" Jason yelled wildly, his eyes gleaming. "Frank and I can go down there and sift through the rubble! We can't leave them behind!"

She knew he was reliving his past- reliving Charleston and Calla. She didn't say anything.

Frank grabbed Jason's shoulder softly. "Jason…" he said gently. "They're gone."

Piper moaned, holding Hazel tighter. Leo placed his hands into his pockets, looking lost.

"No."

Frank took a labored breath, tears forming in his eyes. "Jason, they're-"

Jason broke out of Frank's grasp roughly, wiping away his tears. He angrily threw his sword down to the ground, storming away.

"I'll go talk to him," Coach offered quietly, walking away with a somber look on his face.

Frank choked out a sob, wavering dangerously. Nico shuffled awkwardly away from the rest of them, staring out into the sky.

She couldn't feel her limbs. Was she even breathing?

Leo sat down next to her, a glassy look in his eyes. He looked at her with such concern, such gentleness that she knew how she felt.

She was the idiot in love with her best friend.

Her hands shook, the first movement she was aware of.

Leo opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something. But sometimes, words fail.

He opened his arms, wanting to hold her.

And she let him.

* * *

No one seemed to know what to do.

It was quite clear- their two leaders were gone. What now?

Leo finally gave them some kind of direction- telling them to go below deck and get things secure for departure. Departure- she hated that word. No one wanted to leave. And yet, they had to. There was nothing left for them here.

They gathered on the quarterdeck, where Rosie watched as Leo rested a hand on the Archimedes sphere, something he had gotten when he was underground with Hazel and Frank. She could tell he wanted to be more excited about it- but how could he, after what happened?

"It's my fault," he said quietly to the group.

Rosie knew that wasn't true. The shaking she had felt in her cavern- she knew the only person who could cause it. It had been her fault. She didn't know what Leo was referring to.

Gaea knew how to destroy her. It wasn't enough losing one brother- Gaea had to take the other one out of her life.

"That's not true, Leo," Hazel insisted fiercely. "It was her fault- Gaea's." She gripped Leo's hand. "Listen, Leo. I won't allow you to feel guilty. Not-not after Sammy…" she broke off with a sob, leaving Rosie with so many questions.

Nico spoke up quietly. "They're not dead, if that's any consolation. If they were...I could probably feel it."

"How can you be sure?" Leo asked accusingly. "If that pit really does lead to...you know...how can you sense them from so far away?"

Nico and Hazel exchanged nervous looks.

"We can't be one hundred percent sure," Hazel admitted softly. "But I think Nico is right. They're alive...so far."

Rosie felt Piper grip her shoulder.

Jason pounded the railing. He appeared to be doing a little better after talking to Coach...but still distraught. "I should've been paying attention- I should've flown down to save them."

"Me too," Frank moaned, closing his eyes.

Piper shook her head. "Guys, we have to stop blaming ourselves. We were focused on the statue."

Nico nodded in agreement. "Even if the pit wasn't buried...you wouldn't be able to fly that close. Tartarus….I can't even describe how powerful that place is. The force you feel...sucks you in. I never stood a chance."

Frank sniffled. "What about them, then? Percy and Annabeth? Do they not have a chance?"

"Percy is the most powerful demigod I ever met. If anyone can survive, it's him and Annabeth. They'll find a way through Tartarus."

"To the Doors of Death, right?" Jason asked. "You told us it's guarded by Gaea's most powerful forces. How could two demigods possibly-?"

"I don't know," Nico said. "But Percy told me to lead you guys to Epirus, to the mortal side of the doorway. His plan is to meet us there. If we can survive the House of Hades, fight our way through Gaea's forces, then maybe we can work with Percy and Annabeth to seal the Doors from both sides."

"Then we'll do it," Rosie said quietly, the first words she had spoken since seeing Percy and Annabeth, _her friends_, tumble into the darkness. "We have to."

Hazel nodded. "It definitely won't be easy," she said. "Gaea will throw everything she's got at us."

"What else is new?" Jason asked bitterly.

Piper nodded. "We have no choice," she said. "We have to seal the Doors before we can stop the giants from raising Gaea. We've got to hurry. The Romans are in New York- they're headed for camp."

"One month," Jason said. "Ephialtes said Gaea would awaken in one month."

Leo stood up straighter. "We can do it. The Archimedes sphere can upgrade the ship. I'm going to study those ancient scrolls we got. I should be able to make all sorts of new weapons. We're going to fight Gaea's army- they messed with the wrong ship." Festus roared fire in agreement.

That was her Leo.

And he was right- that was the ship's agenda. Hers, however, was different. No one was going to get hurt anymore.

_You will be mine, Earthshaker._

That was the game Gaea wanted to play? So be it.

Jason weakly smiled, saluting Leo. "Sounds good, Admiral. You ready to set course?"

Leo wasn't paying any attention to the magnificent sunset streaking the sky. He was staring straight at Rosie, a look of determination and _fire_ on his face.

"Yeah," he said, smiling at Rosie. "Festus, raise the sails. We've got some friends to save."

* * *

**I want to take a moment to thank you guys for all of the support for this story- it truly means the world to me. **

**And so there we have it! GG is complete! What did everyone think: favorite parts? predictions for the next one?**

**I will be taking a hiatus to start writing the next part of the story- keep your eyes peeled for that.**

**Again, I can't express how grateful I am for yall. those who left comments, Favorited, followed, silently lurked- i love each and every one of you. **

**shegotofftheplane **


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